HOW  NATURE  STUD 
SHOULD  BE  TAUGH 

BIGELOV 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


Class 


^ 


o 


HOW    NATURE    STUDY 
SHOULD     BE    TAUGHT 

INSPIRING    TALKS    TO     TEACHERS 

BY 

EDWARD  F.  BIGELOW,  A.  M.,Ph.  D. 
With  an  Introduction 


J.  P.  GORDY,  Ph.  D.,  L.  L.  D. 

Professor  of  Pedagogy,  New  York  University 


Suggestions  as  to  the  Proper  Method  of 
Introducing  Nature  Study 


H.    A.    SURFACE 

Economic  Zoologist  of  Pennsylvania  and  Professor  of 
Zoology  in  the  Pennsylvania  State  College 


^     OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


HINDS,    NOBLE   &   ELDREDGE 
3I-33'35  West  15th  Street,  New  York  City 


SENERAL 


L.ttlSS5 


COPYRIGHT,  1904,  BY  HINDS,  NOBLE  &  ELDREDGE 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  FAGB 

Introduction — By  Dr.  J.  P.  Gordy vii 

I.  What  is  Nature  Study? I 

II.  "Vat  For  Ish  Dat  ?  " 19 

III.  Winning  Love  for  Nature  Study 35 

IV.  Correlating  Nature  Study 49 

V.  "  Keeping  Them  Down  " 69 

VI.  Why  No  Schedules  for  Nature  Study 75 

VII.  What  I  Do  Care  For 89 

VIII.  Love  of  Nature  and  the  Love  of  Mother ....  93 

IX.  Science  Is  Not  All 99 

X.  "  What  Did  You  Get  ?  " 103 

XL  Commonplace  Nature 107 

XII.  Vice  Versa 109 

XIII.  Plant  Life 115 

XIV.  School  Gardens :  123 

XV.  The  Microscope  in  Nature  Study 129 

XVI.  Nature  Study  in  -the  Autumn 137 

XVII.  A  Plea  for  Walking 141 

XVIII.  Outings 149 

XIX.  Give  the  Young  Observers  a  Choice 157 

Hi 


.V  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.  Progress  by  Avoiding  Repetition 1 59 

XXI.  Nature  and  Life 163 

XXII.  Books  and  Nature 165 

XXIII.  "  Hush  All  the  Classes  and  Hug  Him  " 169 

XXIV.  Woven  Into  Child  Nature 177 

XXV.  Some  Tests  of  Proficiency  in  Nature  Study 181 

XXVI.  Inspiration  of  Nature  Study 187 

Appendix.    How  to  Introduce  Nature  Study,  by  Professor 

H.  A.  Surface 197 


FOREWORD. 

The  author  was,  for  eight  years,  the  editor  of 
"  The  Observer,"  a  magazine  for  naturalists ;  for 
three  years  editor  of  "  Popular  Science,"  and  for 
the  past  five  years  he  has  been  the  editor  of  the 
department  of  Nature  and  Science  in  "  St.  Nicho- 
las," a  magazine  for  young  folks,  and  as  a  lecturer 
and  teacher  he  is  not  without  experience  in  the 
department  of  study  which  this  book  aims  to 
treat.  For  these  reasons,  and  for  others  which  we 
will  allow  the  reader  to  discover,  he  has  prepared 
the  book,  hoping,  like  the  author  of  every  similar 
work,  to  help,  instruct,  and  perhaps  inspire,  the 
earnest  teacher,  whose  lot  is  always  a  laborious 
one,  whose  leisure  is  always  scanty,  but  whose 
final  reward  is  certain  and  great. 

Many  of  the  chapters  that  compose  this  book 
were  originally  published  in  "  The  Popular  Edu- 
cator," Boston,  Mass. ;  others  are  reproduced  from 
"  The  Journal  of  Education,"  Boston ;  "  The 
School  Journal,"  New  York  :  "  School  Science," 
Chicago  ;    "  The  Ohio  Teacher,"  Athens,   Ohio. 


VI  FOREWORD 

Thanks  are  due  the  editors  for  much  kindness  and 
courtesy. 

The  writer  gratefully  acknowledges  permission 
from  the  author  and  the  publisher,  to  reprint, 
from  the  report  of  General  Z.  T.  Sweeney,  Fish 
and  Game  Commissioner  of  Indiana,  the  valuable 
paper,  "  How  to  Introduce  Nature  Study,"  by 
Professor  H.  A.  Surface,  Supervisor  of  Nature 
Study  in  Pennsylvania. 

To  Professor  J.  P.  Gordy,  Ph.D.,  LL.D.,  Pro- 
fessor of  Pedagogy  of  the  New  York  University, 
the  writer  thankfully  acknowledges  his  obligation 
for  the  favor  that  Dr.  Gordy  shows  him  and  the 
reader,  by  allowing  the  publication  here  of  the 
suggestive,  helpful  and  inspiring  Introduction. 

Where  our  Mother  Nature  lives,  there  is  our 
Dulce  Domum.  The  children  of  her  home  are 
the  little  brothers  of  ours.  Among  all  the  teach- 
ers she  is  the  greatest,  and  she  is  ours.  What  she 
tells  us,  u  children  of  a  larger  growth,"  shall  we 
not  tell  ours,  of  fewer  years  and  more  impression- 
able minds,  who  cluster  about  us  in  the  school- 
room, and  in  our  own  particular  Dulce  Domum? 
To  help  the  reader  in  this,  is  the  purpose  of  this 
book. 


INTRODUCTION. 

BY   PROFESSOR  J.    P.    GORDY,   PH.D.,   LL.D. 

Every  revolution  in  the  history  of  thought  is 
followed  by  a  revolution  in  the  history  of  educa- 
tion. It  was  so  in  the  fifth  century  before  Christ, 
when  the  Sophists  discredited  the  idea  that  the 
individual  exists  solely  for  the  State ;  it  was  so  in 
Rome  two  hundred  years  later,  when  the  old 
Roman  ideal  of  citizenship  gave  place  to  the 
Greek  ideal  of  individualism  ;  it  was  so  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Middle  Ages,  when  the  pagan  ideal 
of  culture  and  enjoyment  was  supplanted  by  the 
ideal  of  monasticism  ;  it  was  so  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Renaissance,  when  the  ideal  of  asceticism  and 
self-denial  gave  place  to  the  ideal  of  enjoyment 
and  self-culture ;  it  was  so  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, when  the  vast  enlargement  of  our  knowledge 
of  the  physical  universe  and  its  varied  application 
to  practical  uses,  transformed  men's  attitude  to- 
wards nature,  and  made  them  realize  that  a  serv- 
ant of  almost  infinite  power  stood  ready  to  obey 

them,  whenever  they  learned  enough  about  the 

vii 


V1U  INTRODUCTION 

world  to  be  able  to  speak  the  right  word  of  com- 
mand. 

Spencer's  famous  essay,  on  "  What  Knowledge 
is  of  most  Worth  ?  "  may  perhaps  be  said  to  mark 
the  beginning  of  the  corresponding  revolution 
from  the  standpoint  of  theory.  For  though 
Bacon  and  Comenius  had  insisted  on  the  import- 
ance of  a  knowledge  of  things,  they  were  as  voices 
crying  in  the  wilderness.  When  so  great  a  scholar 
as  Erasmus  could  urge  no  reason  for  studying 
nature  except  that  it  would  throw  light  on  liter- 
ature, it  was  out  of  the  question  for  others  to  get 
a  hearing,  who  insisted,  not  only  that  nature  was 
worth  investigating  on  its  own  account,  but  that 
it  was  the  most  important  subject  of  study.  It 
was  not  until  the  slow  progress  of  discovery  and 
invention  had  gradually  changed  men's  attitude 
towards  the  physical  universe,  that  the  appearance 
of  a  brilliant  and  extravagant  essay  like  Spencer's, 
which  put  forth  the  claim  that  science  was  the 
only  subject  worth  studying,  could  form  an  epoch 
in  the  history  of  education. 

It  hardly  needs  to  be  pointed  out  that  this 
revolution  in  the  history  of  thought  has  found  its 
practical  expression  in  the  history  of  education. 
The  elaborate  and  expensive  laboratories  for  the 


INTRODUCTION  IX 

study  of  physics,  chemistry  and  biology ;  the 
organization  and  multiplication  of  scientific  and 
technical  schools ;  the  great  variety  of  courses  for 
the  study  of  science;  the  conferring  of  degrees 
upon  the  completion  of  curricula  in  which  science 
is  by  far  the  largest  element,  are  a  few  of  the  ex- 
pressions of  this  revolution  in  the  field  of  educa- 
tion, as  is  the  insistence  upon  nature  study  and 
elementary  science  in  our  primary  and  grammar 
schools. 

But  the  stress  which  is  being  laid  upon  the 
study  of  science  is  due,  not  only  to  the  change  in 
our  attitude  toward  nature,  but  also  to  a  change 
in  our  attitude  toward  education,  Formerly,  the 
question  was,  What  does  a  man  need  to  know? 
Now  the  question  is  being  asked,  What  does  he 
need  to  be  ?  It  is  the  emphasis  upon  this  ques- 
tion, in  the  minds  of  the  leaders  of  educational 
thought,  which  is  making  it  clearer  and  clearer 
that  we  need  a  knowledge  of  nature,  not  only  be- 
cause we  want  to  be  able  to  talk  with  one  another 
across  the  ocean ;  to  be  able  to  tunnel  our  moun- 
tains and  to  throw  huge  bridges  across  our  rivers, 
and  to  navigate  the  air;  not  only  because  we 
want  electricity  and  steam  to  do  the  mechanical 
work  of  the  world,  but  because  we  want  to  be 


X  INTRODUCTION 

men.  We  are  beginning  dimly  to  perceive  that 
the  change  produced  by  the  study  of  science  upon 
the  mind  of  man  is  hardly  less  great  than  the 
change  which  that  knowledge  produces  in  his 
power  over  nature. 

There  was  a  time  when  men  crouched  in  abject 
terror  of  nature  ;  they  trembled  at  the  sound  of 
thunder ;  they  fell  on  their  knees  in  the  presence 
of  an  eclipse  ;  a  hurricane  was  the  breath  of  an 
evil  spirit,  and  an  epidemic  the  expression  of  the 
wrath  of  an  offended  deity.  Nature  was  an 
enemy  ;  her  powers  were  wielded  by  demons,  to 
make  the  brief  and  wretched  lives  of  men  briefer 
and  more  miserable  still.  Ignorance  of  nature  and 
the  wildest  and  most  fantastic  superstitions  went 
hand  in  hand.  The  inability  to  use  natural  forces 
involved  the  inability  to  think  clearly.  The  in- 
ability to  command  nature  by  obeying  her,  in- 
volved the  inability  to  understand  man's  relation 
to  her.  He  who  should  stand  erect  in  her  pres- 
ence, and,  through  penetration  of  her  secrets,  com- 
mand her  to  do  his  bidding,  crouches  in  terror 
before  her,  and  thinks  of  himself  as  her  victim 
and  toy,  and  plaything,  whenever  he  fails  to  under- 
stand her.  It  is  as  though  our  beneficent  teacher, 
nature,  would  beguile  us  into  getting  the  training 


INTRODUCTION  XI 

which  we  need  as  men,  by  making  it  depend  on 
the  knowledge  which  we  need  for  the  practical 
purposes  of  life. 

Is,  then,  the  imparting  of  a  knowledge  of  nature 
the  one  purpose  of  nature  study  ?  To  show  that 
it  is  not  is  one  of  the  chief  purposes  of  Dr.  Bige- 
low's  book.  He  never  tires  of  insisting  upon  the 
difference  between  elementary  science  and  nature 
study,  because  the  primary  purpose  of  elementary 
science  is  the  imparting  of  scientific  knowledge,  and 
the  development  of  habits  of  scientific  thinking, 
while  the  primary  purpose  of  nature  study  is  the 
development  of  a  love  of  nature.  Of  course 
knowing  cannot  take  place  apart  from  feeling,  nor 
feeling  apart  from  knowing.  But  the  cold  love 
of  truth,  the  feeling  that  the  teaching  of  science 
seeks  to  awaken,  is  a  vastly  different  experience 
from  the  feeling  of  love  or  of  admiration  for  an 
animal,  or  an  object, — which  the  teaching  of  na- 
ture study  seeks  to  awaken.  And  the  concentra- 
tion of  the  attention  upon  the  universal  aspects  or 
phases  (the  class  relations)  of  objects,  which  the 
teaching  of  science  seeks  to  bring  about,  is  an 
entirely  different  thing  from  the  concentration  of 
the  attention  upon  an  object  as  a  whole, — upon 
those  characteristics  which  make  it  an  individual, 


Xli  INTRODUCTION 

which  the  teaching  of  nature  study  seeks  to  bring 
about.  You  may  talk  to  a  boy  about  the  resem- 
blances between  a  cat  and  a  tiger,  in  the  hope  of 
developing  an  interest  in  the  relations  of  animals  ; 
if  so,  you  are  teaching  elementary  science,  and  are 
trying  to  stimulate  his  love  of  truth.  Or  you  may 
try  to  get  him  to  look  at  a  cat  as  an  object  not  to 
be  pelted  with  stones,  but  as  a  living  thing,  one 
that  responds  to  affectionate  treatment  with  affec- 
tion ;  if  so,  you  are  teaching  nature  study,  and 
are  trying  to  develop  a  love  of  animals.  You  are 
making  a  certain  appeal  to  the  intellect  in  both 
cases,  but  in  the  former,  you  do  not  want  the  boy 
to  consider  the  cat  as  an  individual  at  all,  for  one 
cat  will  serve  the  purpose  quite  as  well  as  another, 
since  it  is  the  cat  as  a  member  of  a  class  in  which 
you  wish  to  interest  him  ;  in  the  latter,  it  is  the 
cat  as  an  individual,  a  being  with  a  capacity  for 
individual  pleasures  and  pains,  such  as  the  boy 
himself  is  conscious  of,  that  you  wish  him  to  have 
in  mind.  Succeed  ideally  in  the  former  attempt, 
and  he  will  not  only  be  perfectly  ready  to  dissect 
his  cat  when  dead,  but  to  vivisect  it  when  alive, 
if  he  can  learn  something  about  it  that  he  wishes 
to  know ;  succeeded  ideally  in  the  latter,  and  he 
becomes  the  friend  of  all  living  things,  and  will 


INTRODUCTION  Xlii 

quiver  with  indignation  at  the  infliction  of  un- 
necessary pain  upon  any  animal. 

Upon  second  thoughts,  however,  it  is  plain  that 
this  illustration  suggests  more  than  the  truth.  It 
is  indeed  true  that  elementary  science  aims  to  de- 
velop an  interest  in  types  and  classes,  while  nature 
study  seeks  to  awaken  an  interest  in  objects  and 
individuals.  It  is  also  true  that  the  interest  which 
science  seeks  to  arouse  is  the  love  of  knowledge, 
while  that  which  nature  study  would  stimulate 
is  some  sort  of  appreciation  of  an  object  or  an 
animal.  But  it  is  not  true  that  an  intense  love 
of  knowledge,  unaccompanied  by  the  proper  de- 
velopment of  the  emotional  nature,  has  only  bad 
results,  nor  is  it  true  that  a  development  of  the 
emotional  nature  unaccompanied  by  a  proper  de- 
velopment of  the  intellect,  has  only  results  that 
are  good.  Develop  the  intellect  abnormally  along 
with  the  love  of  knowledge,  which  is  its  inevitable 
accompaniment,  and  you  have  indeed  trained  a 
being  of  the  temper  of  Spinoza,  who  knows  no 
love  nor  hate,  who  responds  to  no  enthusiasm  ex- 
cept that  which  results  from  the  contemplation  of 
the  reign  of  law,  who  is  willing  to  eliminate  all 
individuality  from  the  universe,  to  resolve  it  into 
the   expression   of   necessary   and    eternal  laws, 


XIV  INTRODUCTION 

because  there  is  nothing  in  the  nature  of  such  a 
being  which  demands  a  world  of  individuals.  But 
it  is  equally  true  that  to  develop  the  emotions 
abnormally,  is  to  develop  a  being  of  the  temper 
of  Rousseau,  a  "weltering  mass  of  sensibility," 
impelled  this  way  to-day  and  to-morrow  that, 
according  as  the  wind  of  emotion  blows  north  or 
south,  saved,  if  saved  at  all,  from  debasing 
superstitions  only  because  he  passively  accepts 
the  results  of  other  men's  thinking.  Succeed 
ideally  with  your  nature  study,  we  said  above  in 
commenting  upon  our  cat  illustration,  and  the  boy 
will  quiver  with  indignation  at  the  infliction  of 
unnecessary  pain  upon  an  animal.  It  is  now 
clear  that  such  a  boy  will  never  see  the  necessity 
for  the  infliction  of  pain,  unless  he  has  capacities 
which  have  not  been  developed  by  any  training 
/of  his  emotional  nature.  Manifestly  what  is 
'needed  is  not  a  training  either  of  the  head  or  the 
heart  by  itself,  but  of  the  two  in  conjunction.  As 
Pestalozzi  put  it,  "  Let  not  [the  child]  attempt  to 
[climb  the  ladder  leading  up  to  Heaven]  by  the 
cold  calculation  of  the  head  or  the  mere  impulses  of 
the  heart ;  but  let  all  these  powers  combine,  and 
the  noble  enterprise  will  be  crowned  with  success." 
Nevertheless,  the  half  of  the  truth  upon  which 


INTRODUCTION  XV 

Dr.  Bigelow  insists  is  the  one  which  most  needs 
to  be  emphasized.  I  have  said  that  the  question 
which  the  leaders  of  educational  thought  are  be- 
ginning to  ask  is,  What  does  a  man  need  to  be? 
But  it  is  not  true  that  this  question  is  uppermost 
even  in  the  minds  of  most  educated  men  when  they 
are  thinking  of  education  ;  as  a  rule,  men  continue 
to  think  of  themselves  as  means,  not  as  ends.  They 
look  upon  their  physical  and  mental  powers  and 
capacities  as  tools  for  the  accomplishment  of  work. 
They  care  more  for  education  than  they  used  to 
care,  because  they  have  learned  that  it  increases 
their  power  to  do  things.  Even  in  this  demo- 
cratic age,  we  do  not  undersand  the  truth  upon 
which  Sir  William  Hamilton  used  to  insist,  "  On 
earth  there  is  nothing  great  but  man  ;  in  man  there 
is  nothing  great  but  mind."  It  is  ignorance  of  this 
truth  which  so  often  causes  statesmen  to  confuse 
social  progress  with  growth  of  wealth,  spread  of 
commerce,  mere  increase  of  population.  Instead 
of  agreeing  with  Aristotle  that  the  object  of  the 
state  is  to  promote  good  life,  they  are  prone  to 
concentrate  their  attention  on  the  mere  tools  of 
life.  They  incline  to  plume  themselves  on  their 
promotion  of  the  "  onward  march  of  civilization," 
when  they  have  merely  promoted  national  devel- 


XVI  INTRODUCTION 

opment,  as  though  the  increase  of  the  mere  means 
of  existence  necessarily  made  the  life  of  any  man 
better  worth  the  living;  as  though  such  increase 
might  not  be  made  through  the  sacrifice  of  the 
best  things  in  the  world. 

The  same  error  lies  at  the  bottom  of  our  wor- 
ship of  success.  Has  the  man  done  things  ?  Has 
he  amassed  a  great  fortune  ?  Has  he  risen  to  a 
high  office?  Has  he  made  himself  master  of  his 
party  ?  Has  he  changed  the  map  of  the  world  ? 
We  ask,  in  a  word,  not  what  he  is,  but  what  out- 
ward success  he  has  achieved,  and  if  that  success 
be  great  enough,  we  are  perfectly  willing  to  ex- 
cuse him  for  any  violence,  no  matter  how  great, 
which  he  has  done  to  his  own  best  self. 

That  is  why  we  lay  such  undue  stress  on  mere 
cleverness,  pure  intellectual  ability.  If  you  would 
get  music,  or  drawing,  or  painting,  or  any  form  of 
art  in  the  course  of  study  in  our  schools  and  col- 
leges, you  must  show  that  it  develops  the  intel- 
lect, and  thereby  increases  the  power  to  do  things. 
Say  that  the  past  generations  of  the  race  have  be- 
queathed to  us  a  noble  inheritance  in  music,  paint- 
ing, literature,  and  that  it  is  our  business  to  enter 
upon  that  inheritance  not  simply  because  of  any 
use  we  can  put  it  to,  or  any  power  it  will  develop 


INTRODUCTION  Xvii 

in  us,  but  because  it  constitutes  an  important 
part  of  the  spiritual  wealth  of  the  world,  and  the 
practical  man  will  not  listen  to  you.  He  demands 
results,  deeds,  achievements,  and  has  no  use  for  a 
training  which  has  anything  else  in  view.  He 
does  not  realize  that  the  cultivation  of  the  capacity 
for  simple  pleasures,  for  the  pleasures  of  home,  for 
a  love  of  animals  and  of  nature,  may  be  the  most 
practical  thing  in  the  world.  He  does  not  under- 
stand that  a  system  of  education  which,  while  it 
seeks  to  enrich  the  student  with  the  garnered 
wealth  of  all  the  ages,  hys  stress  on  homely 
joys  and  unassuming  virtues,  may  still  be  as  con- 
ducive to  national  well-being,  and  have  as  marked 
a  tendency  to  promote  what  should  be  called 
civilization,  as  the  system  that  aims  at  nothing  ex- 
cept developing  the  capacity  to  do  things,  and 
a  determination  to  employ  it.  Ruskin  doubtless 
was  guilty  of  a  gross  exaggeration  when  he  said 
that  "All  other  efforts  in  education  are  futile  till 
you  have  taught  your  people  to  love  fields,  birds, 
and  flowers."  But  if  he  had  said  that  the  develop- 
ment of  the  love  of  such  things,  in  those  who  have  a 
capacity  for  it,  is  second  in  importance  to  nothing 
except  the  forming  of  character,  who  could  have 
questioned  his  statement  ? 


XVlll  INTRODUCTION 

Not  only,  then,  is  the  emotional  side  of  the 
child  a  thing  to  be  cultivated,  but  it  is  equally 
true  that  this  can  be  successfully  done  only 
through  the  emotional  nature  of  the  teacher. 
As  the  teacher  reaches  the  intellect  of  his  pupils 
through  his  own  intellect,  so  he  touches  their 
emotions  by  means  of  his  own  emotions.  That 
is  why  the  teacher  must  himself  love  nature,  if 
he  is  to  succeed  in  influencing  others  with  a  love 
for  it.  As  Dr.  Bigelow  puts  it,  "  Do  not  talk  to 
him  [your  pupil]  about  the  lovableness  of  nature, 
if  you  have  not  the  genuine  article  in  your  own 
heart,  heart,  not  head."  That  remarkable  char- 
acteristic of  the  human  mind  called  by  some  psy- 
chologists plastic  imitation,  in  consequence  of 
which  we  tend  to  believe  and  feel  as  the  people 
around  us  believe  and  feel,  which  explains  the 
tidal-wave  spread  of  enthusiasm  that  manifested 
itself  in  such  great  movements  as  the  Crusades, 
in  the  prevalence  of  belief  in  witchcraft  at  cer- 
tain periods  in  the  history  of  the  world,  in  the 
contagion-like  communication  of  panic  from  man 
to  man  in  a  theatre,  when  a  cry  of  danger  is 
heard,  and  in  the  remarkable  counteracting  in- 
fluence that  may  be  exerted  by  a  person  who 
keeps  his  presence  of   mind,  this  characteristic 


INTRODUCTION  XIX 

makes  it  impossible  for  the  feelings  of  a  pupil  to 
be  aroused  by  any  purely  intellectual  activity  on 
the  part  of  the  teacher.  And  this  is  true,  of 
course,  not  only  of  nature  study,  but  universally. 
Ideas  may  be  conveyed  by  the  intellect.  But 
Ideals  can  be  developed  only  by  one  who  loves 
and  cherishes  them  for  himself.  Not  long  since, 
the  principal  of  a  certain  school  was  warmly  prais- 
ing his  teacher  of  history.  The  originality  of  the 
teacher,  his  love  of  research,  his  skill  in  unravel- 
ling the  tangled  web  of  historical  causation,  were 
warmly  commended.  "  Has  he  the  philanthropic 
impulse  ?  *'  asked  the  listener.  "  Does  he  seek  to 
know  the  causes  of  what  has  happened,  so  that 
he  may  learn  how  the  errors  of  the  past  may  be 
avoided  ?  Does  his  study  of  history  present  it- 
self to  him  as  the  way  in  which  he  can  best  con- 
tribute "  his  personal  efforts  as  bricks  and  mortar 
for  building  the  walls  of  the  free  democratic  city> 
the  supreme  refuge  of  human  dignity?"  To 
which  was  given  the  almost  pathetic  reply.  "  I 
don't  know."  From  such  a  teacher  light  can 
come,  but  not  that  sort  of  stimulation  that  tends 
to  transform  the  life. 

Dr.  Bigelow's  "  Tests  of  Proficiency  in  Nature- 
Study"  will  doubtless  seem  very  ridiculous   to 


XX  INTRODUCTION 

those  teachers  who  are  afflicted  with  the  worst 
of  all  pedagogical  manias,  the  mania  for  informa- 
tion. But  they  are  perfectly  sound,  and  we 
might  apply  the  same  tests  to  the  teaching  of 
history  in  a  high  school  or  a  college.  Has  it 
strengthened  your  determination  to  do  your  own 
thinking  in  political  matters,  the  pupil  might  be 
asked  ?  Has  it  made  you  resolve  that,  come 
what  will,  you  will  never  wear  any  party  collar? 
Has  it  made  you  feel  the  infinite  pathos  of  the 
situation,  if  it  should  eventually  appear  that  after 
many  centuries  of  struggle,  humanity  succeeded 
in  throwing  off  the  rule  of  an  oligarchy  of  birth, 
only  to  succumb  to  the  tyrannical  and  self-seek- 
ing rule  of  the  oligarchy  of  a  party  organization  ? 
If  the  pupil  can  honestly  answer  such  questions 
in  the  affirmative,  he  has  studied  history  to  the 
best  possible  purpose,  even  though  he  is  con- 
fused as  to  many  of  the  dates  upon  which  the 
information-mad  teacher  is  in  the  habit  of  laying 
so  much  stress. 

In  general,  the  Pedagogy  of  this  book  is  en- 
tirely sound.  The  discipline  of  a  school  comes 
to  seem  an  end  in  itself  to  the  rigid  disciplinarian. 
Not  so  to  Dr.  Bigelow.  From  the  average 
teacher's  point  of  view,  the  preservation  of  his 


INTRODUCTION  XXI 

dignity  is  a  matter  of  so  much  importance,  that 
the  child  must  be  repressed  whenever  he  does 
anything  that  might  seem  to  be  a  reflection  upon 
it.  Not  so  from  Dr.  Bigelow's  point  of  view. 
With  him,  discipline,  teacher,  subject,  method, 
must  all  stand  in  the  background.  The  child, 
and  the  child  alone,  has  a  right  to  the  centre  of 
the  stage. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD 
BE   TAUGHT 


CHAPTER  I 
WHAT   IS    NATURE    STUDY? 

The  school-boy  begins  with  a  definition.  "  We 
will  first  define  our  subject.  Webster  says,"  etc. 
So,  like  the  school-boy,  I  will  begin  with  a  defini- 
tion, and  thus  impress  upon  my  readers  the  fact 
that,  in  one  respect  at  least,  this  article  will  har- 
monize with  school-room  experiences. 

Speaking  of  Webster  and  definitions  recalls  an 
experience  of  boyhood,  in  "the  old  red  school- 
aouse." 

It  was  "  School  Visitor,"  day,  the  last  Wednes- 
day of  the  term.  School  closed  on  Friday,  but  we 
were  not  expected  to  do  much  after  the  "  Visitor  " 
had  been  there.  It  was  a  terrible  misfortune  when 
the  last  day  of  the  school  term  was  "Visitor"  day, 
for  then  we  had  no  "after"  ease  ! 

Of  course,  on  "  Visitor  "  day  we  wore  our  Sun- 
I 


2    HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

day  clothes.  I  do  not  recollect  all  the  events  of  the 
occasion,  but  a  few  things  stand  out  with  vivid 
prominence.  First,  there  were  my  new  shoes  that 
pinched  my  toes,  and  squeaked  dismally  as  I 
walked.  My  impression  is  that  it  was  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  from  the  door  to  my  desk,  and  what  a  row 
of  people  I  passed  in  that  journey ! 

There  were  Mrs.  Brocker,  who  beamed  at  me 
over  her  spectacles  in  a  sort  of  "  I-know-you-and- 
guess-you-are-a-big-man  to-day  "  sort  of  way  ;  and 
Deacon  Adams,  with  an  indescribable  twinkle  in 
his  eye.  I  thought  he  was  making  fun  of  me  on 
account  of  my  new  shoes.  Finally,  I  woke  up  the 
Visitor.  He  opened  his  eyes,  and  looked  at  me 
over  his  spectacles,  and  made  my  journey  longer. 
He  had  a  learned  way  of  leaning  back  in  his  arm- 
chair, and  "  going  to  sleep,"  as  we  thought.  Woe 
to  the  luckless  youth  that  woke  him  up !  But 
this  time  I  escaped  that  disaster. 

When  the  teacher  had  tapped  on  the  desk,  and 
told  Frank  to  shut  the  door  and  put  the  water-pail 
in  the  corner,  the  Visitor  said  to  her :  "  You  may 
call  out  the  class  in  '  Webster's  Speller  and 
Definer,'  "  and  went  to  sleep  again.  He  may  have 
waked  up  more  than  twice  during  the  class,  but  I 
do  not  remember  that  he  did.    Some  of  the  parents 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT    3 

changed  their  seats,  and  we  young  folks  lined 
up  against  the  wall,  from  the  door  to  the  black- 
board. 

On  the  final  wake-up  for  "  Remarks,"  the  Visitor 
said,  "  Now,  I  like  a  complete,  well-rounded 
definition.  You  must  know  the  thing,  and  then 
express  it  concisely  and  clearly.  When  you  can 
do  that  with  a  common  thing,  it  shows  that  you 
think  clearly  and  can  express  your  thoughts 
concisely.  It's  a  good  thing,  not  only  to  get 
acquainted  with  new  words,  but  to  define  such  a 
common  word  as  '  boat,'  for  instance."  And  he 
went  on  to  talk  encouragingly  of  other  school 
matters,  but  chiefly  to  tell  what  he  did  when  he 
was  a  boy,  as  I  have  since  learned  that  many 
mature  men  have  the  habit  of  doing.  Impressions 
made  in  childhood  are  lasting. 

Then  the  teacher  started  in  with,  "And  now, 
pupils,  I  want  to  say  a  few  words  to  you."  I  do  not 
recollect  what  she  said,  except  that  she  expressed 
her  appreciation  of  the  Visitor's  encouragement, 
but  greatly  regretted  that  he  had  not  given  us  an 
ideal  definition  of  the  word  "  boat." 

That  beat  me  and  my  new  shoes;  it  woke  the 
Visitor  clear  up,  away  up  on  his  feet,  and  so 
suddenly  that  Frank  and  I  snickered,  and  he  looked 


4    HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

at  me  again  for  fifteen  minutes,  I  felt ;  perhaps,  it 
was  really  only  a  second,  but  I  was  subdued. 

"Why,  certainly,  Miss  Carrier,  with  the  greatest 
of  pleasure ;  it  slipped  my  mind,  when  I  got  to 
talking  of  boyhood  matters. 

"  Now,  a  boat  is — of  course,  we  must  first  know 
what  the  thing  is  ;  that  you  already  know.  There 
are  lots  of  them  just  over  the  hill,  on  the  Babcock 
pond.  Now,  get  the  thing  clearly  in  mind,  and 
then  we  are  prepared  to  define  it.  A  boat — such 
as  you  see  on  that  pond  every  day — is — a  boat  is 
— such  a  boat  as  Frank  has  [that  made  me  jump  ; 
it  was  a  close  shot,  for  Frank  sat  next  to  me].  I 
saw  him  going  down  there  the  other  day,  with 
another  boy  and  three  girls,  a  good  boat-load  ; 
going  out  after  some  of  those  pond-lilies,  I  guess. 
But,  I  forgot ;  that  boat  like  Frank's  is — a  boat — 
then  there's  another  one,  a  beautiful  boat,  newly 
painted,  with  the  name '  Lily  '  on  it.  I  happened 
to  think  of  that,  speaking  of  pond-lilies.  I  don't 
know  whether  a  girl  by  the  name  of  Lily  owns  it, 
or  whether  some  one  of  you  roguish  boys  named 
it  after  your  favorite  girl." 

We  looked  at  the  teacher ;  she  smiled,  and  that 
told  us  that  it  was  a  joke,  at  which  we  might  laugh, 
and   we  made  the  most  of  it.     The   boys   all   ya- 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT    5 

ha-ed,  the  girls  tittered,  and  even  the  Visitor 
chuckled,  and  took  off  his  glasses  and  wiped 
them  in  a  deliberate  way.     Then  he  continued : 

"Well,  you're  a  happy  lot,  I  see;  youth  is  the 
time  to  be  happy.  I  was  just  as  happy  as  you 
are,  at  your  age — and — and — well,  I  don't  know  but 
I've  had  some  pretty  good  times  since  then."  He 
looked  at  the  Deacon,  and  we  boys  noticed  that 
the  Deacon's  twinkle  turned  to  a  grin,  and  we  young 
folks  laughed  again,  but  not  so  loud  ;  we  were  not 
quite  sure  that  we  could  laugh  on  the  Deacon's 
grin.  The  teacher's  dimple  showed  a  little,  then 
she  looked  solemn,  and  the  Visitor  proceeded  : 

"  As  I  was  saying,  you  must  first  see  the  thing — 
and  yet,  one  thing  isn't  enough.  Your  definition 
is  apt  to  be  one-sided,  if  you  don't  take  into  con- 
sideration many  specimens  of  the  class.  For  ex- 
ample, there's  Frank's  boat.  He  keeps  it  for  use  ; 
always  has  a  good  string  of  fish  when  he  comes 
home  ;  and  I  don't  suppose  he  cares  so  much 
about  the  appearance  of  the  boat  as  does  the 
owner  of  that  one  beautifully  painted,  with  the 
name 'Lily'  on  it.  But  you  young  folks  know 
that  these  small  boats  are  not  all.  A  definition 
that  would  apply  to  them  might  not  apply  to  other 
boats.     There's  the  mass  of  logs  that  the  boys 


6    HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

have  tied  together,  and  go  out  swimming  on,  they 
stand  up  and  dive  off  into  deep  water  from  these. 
I  know  how  it  was  when  I  was  a  boy  ;  couldn't 
dive  very  well,  either.  We  call  that  a  raft,  but, 
after  all,  it  is  a  boat,  of  course  differing  from  the 
others.  Then,  you  know,  there's  Uncle  Standish's 
big  boat,  plain,  but  serviceable  ;  he  uses  it  to  take 
fertilizer,  and  tools,  and  crops  across  the  pond,  to 
what  he  calls  his  'westside  lot.'  And,  of  course, 
now  you're  all  thinking  about  the  great  ships  with 
their  white  sails,  and  the  swift  steamers,  with 
their  powerful  engines,  that  are  also  boats.  So, 
you  see,  we  have  increased  our  knowledge  of 
boats  by  broader  experiences.  Now,  we  come 
back  home,  to  the  path  down  through  the  huckle- 
berry bushes,  to  the  old  oak,  where  so  many  boats 
of  all  kinds  that  you  best  know  are  tied  to  the 
shore. 

"  Now,  for  the  definition.  A  boat  is,  such  boats 
as  all  these — I  saw  one  tied  by  a  rope  to  a  maple 
tree — but  I  am  wandering  [and,  by  the  way,  some 
of  the  young  folks,  in  spite  of  the  absence  of  any 
dimple,  were  venturing  on  the  twinkle,  and  titter- 
ing a  little]  ;  yes,  now  let  me  get  a  definition  all 
around  that  will  be  clear  cut  and  apply  to  any  of 
these  boats.     A  boat  is — a  boat  is — is — a — why, 


HOW   NATURE   STUDY   SHOULD   feE   TAUGHT         ? 

any  of  you  young  people  know  what  a  boat 
is!" 

Even  the  Visitor  laughed  at  his  own  discom- 
fiture, and  the  Deacon  roared.  Mrs.  Brocker 
laughed  till  she  wiped  her  eyes  as  if  she  had  been 
crying,  and  the  teacher,  I  did  not  know  she  could 
laugh  like  that,  laughed  as  we  young  folks  did.  I 
do  not  believe  she  cared,  then,  whether  she  got 
her  certificate  for  next  year  or  not,  she  just 
laughed. 

"  But,"  seriously  ask  the  teachers  who  are  read- 
ing this  chapter  with  a  desire  to  find  out  what 
nature  study  is,  "  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  de- 
fining nature  study  ?  " 

Now,  please,  gentle  reader,  be  really  gentle  and 
come  with  me,  so  that  we  may  together  survey 
the  regions  occupied  by  some  of  the  principal 
workers  in  this  department  of  our  profession.  I 
have  been  trying  for  several  years,  in  my  love  of 
nature,  to  ascertain  what  is  meant  in  pedagogics  by 
this  term  nature  study.  I  will  admit  that  it  has 
been  somewhat  of  an  embarrassing  situation.  But 
let  us  first  get  the  thing  in  mind,  and  when  we  know 
what  nature  study  is,  we  shall  be  ready  to  formu- 
late a  concise  definition. 

I   take  up  a  prominent  manual  by  Professor 


8    HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Jackman,  that  bears  on  its  cover  the  words, 
"  Nature  Study."  I  open  to  the  preface,  and  read 
as  follows  : 

In  the  preparation  of  this  book,  it  has  been  the  aim  to 
furnish  a  guide  for  teachers  in  the  common  schools  who 
wish  their  pupils  to  pursue  an  adequate  and  symmetrical 
course  in  Natural  Science.  Science  teaching,  for  a  few 
years  past,  has  been  gradually  working  itself  downward 
from  the  colleges  and  high  schools  into  those  of  lower 
grades,  but,  in  most  cases,  the  plans  followed,  while  fairly 
well  adapted  to  the  demands  of  advanced  pupils,  have  been 
poorly  fitted  to  the  needs  of  the  beginners. 

I  look  carefully,  eagerly,  through  that  preface, 
and  find  no  reference  to  nature  study,  but  con- 
siderable about  "  Zoology  and  botany,  one  lesson 
a  week  ;  physics,  meteorology,  astronomy,  geog- 
raphy, and  geology,  one  lesson  each  two  weeks," 
and  so  on,  with  bracketing  of  schedules  in  which 
these  and  other  sciences  appear. 

I  look  farther  and  find  the  words,  "  Nature 
Study  for  Common  Schools,"  above  the  introduc- 
tory chapter,  the  first  sentence  of  which  reads : 

It  is  of  primary  importance  that  the  teacher  who  seeks  to 
introduce  elementary  science  into  the  common  schools 
should  make  earnest  study  for  the  motive  of  doing  such 
work,  and,  at  the  same  time,  formulate  intelligent  methods 
for  conducting. 

And  so  on.     In  that  chapter  and  the  next,  and 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT    9 

the  next,  nothing  but  "  elementary  science." 
There  are  chapters  on  astronomy,  meteorology, 
physics,  but  no  nature  study,  except  in  the  run- 
ning titles  at  the  top  of  the  pages.  What  is  the 
trouble  with  this  excellent  guide  in  elementary 
science?  Has  the  author  misnamed  it,  or  does 
"  elementary  science  "  mean  exactly  the  same  as 
nature  study  ? 

I  am  forced  to  that  belief,  and  having  become 
grounded  thus  far  in  that  faith,  I  take  up  the  next 
book  at  hand,  one  by  that  master  teacher  and 
student  of  nature  study,  Professor  L.  H.  Bailey, 
of  Cornell,  and  read  what  shatters  that  conclusion. 
He  says: 

What  is  Nature  Study  ?  It  is  seeing  the  thing  which  one 
looks  at,  and  the  drawing  the  proper  conclusions  from  what 
one  sees.  Nature  Study  is  not  the  study  of  science,  as  of 
botany,  entomology,  geology,  and  the  like. 

Diverse  and  antagonistic  opinions  of  the  same 
thing.     Which  of  these  excellent  teachers  is  right  ? 

I  take  up  Wilson's  "  Nature  Study  in  Elemen- 
tary Schools,"  and  find  such  expressions  as: 

Can  I  teach  this  subject  without  scientific  training  ?  This 
course  does  not  presuppose  special  training  .  .  .  only 
an  earnest  effort  to  become  better  acquainted  with  the  famil- 
iar, yet,  to   most  of  us,  unknown  face  of  Nature. 


,     V 


10      HOW  NATURE   STUDY   SHOULD   BE  TAUGHT 
And  again  : 

Perhaps  nine  out  of  ten  teachers,  if  asked  what  is  the 
advantage  of  Nature  Study  to  the  child,  would  say  that  it 
consists  in  the  training  of  the  observation  through  the  senses. 

This  book  refers  to  success  with  children  in  the 
field  ;  but  again,  a  writer  in  POPULAR  EDUCATOR 
concludes  an  extended  article  on  "  Field  Work  in 
Nature  Study,"  with  these  startling  words  :  "  On 
the  whole,  we  have  found  that  more  real  good 
can  come  from  taking  Nature  in  to  the  pupils 
than  from  taking  pupils  out  to  Nature." 

I  look  at  Lange's  "  Handbook  of  Nature 
Study,"  and  read  the  first  paragraph  of  the  intro- 
duction i 

The  study  of  Nature  with  a  view  to  understand  the  rela- 
tions of  plant  and  animal  life  to  the  welfare  and  happiness 
of  man,  needs  no  justification  in  this  age  of  scientific  agri- 
culture and  applied  science. 

I  wonder  what  astronomy,  grandest  of  all 
sciences,  physics,  chemistry,  mineralogy,  and 
geology  have  done,  to  be  left  out  in  the  cold,  and 
attention  restricted  to  plant  and  animal  life ! 
And  is  "  scientific  agriculture  "  and  applied  science 
our  sole  justification  for  a  knowledge  of  nature? 
But  read  the  next  sentence : 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   U 

All  our  most  progressive  teachers  agree  that  Elementary 
Science,  or  Nature  Study,  should  have  a  place  on  the  pro- 
gramme of  every  graded  and  ungraded  school  of  the  land. 

Oh,  the  force  of  that  little  word,  "  or  "  !  Have 
we  two  things,  or  have  we  one  thing  under  two 
names  ? 

Surely,  we  need  not  delve  long  amid  the  books 
and  periodicals  before  we  are  ready  to  extend  a 
sympathetic  hand  to  Professor  Surface,  when  he 
says : 

However,  were  we  forced  to  define  the  term,  we  should 
say  that  Nature  Study  is  a  subject  in  which  the  teaching  is 
for  the  purpose  of  developing  certain  mental  faculties,  such 
as  observation,  comparison,  reflection,  reasoning,  judgment, 
memory,  intellect,  and  even  the  conscience,  and  in  which 
the  material  used  to  secure  this  development  consists  of  the 
objects  and  phenomena  of  Nature.  Many  persons  think  they 
have  tritely  defined  and  disposed  of  the  matter  in  saying  : 
"Nature  Study  is  the  study  of  Nature."  If  this  be  true, 
how  does  it  differ  from  object  lessons  in  which  natural  ob- 
jects form  the  basis  of  work  ?  If  identical,  why  introduce 
the  new  synonyms  and  consequently  confusing  term  ?  Or 
is  it  equivalent  to  elementary  science  ?  If  so,  why  not  call 
it  science  work,  or  elementary  science  ?  Or  again,  is  it  some 
branch  of  science  or  natural  history,  such  as  entomology, 
botany,  or  ornithology,  as  we  must  infer  from  the  writings 
and  teachings  of  some  specialists,  who  have  been  recently 
devoting  more  or  less  time  to  something  they  call  Nature 
Study  ? 

Let  us  get  outside  of  the  circle  of  professional 


12   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

instructors  in  nature  study,  and  try  to  see  our- 
selves as  others  see  us. 

John  Burroughs'  writings  have  been  so  read, 
memorized,  and  recited  in  the  schoolroom,  that 
he  must  surely  have  a  good  opinion  of  our  nature- 
study  work.  Listen  to  the  glowing  terms  in 
which  he  commends  the  labors  of  those  who  use 
his  writings  : 

Not  long  since,  in  a  high  school  in  one  of  our  large  cities, 
I  saw  a  class  of  boys  and  girls  studying  Nature  after  this 
cold-blooded  and  analytic  fashion  :  They  were  fingering  and 
dissecting  some  of  the  lower  sea  forms,  and  appeared  to  find 
it  uninteresting  business,  as  I  am  sure  I  should  have  done. 
If  there  was  a  country  boy  among  them,  I  am  sure  the 
knowledge  of  Nature  he  had  gathered  on  the  farm  was 
worth  a  hundred-fold  for  human  purposes,  or  the  larger 
purposes  of  science,  all  this  biological  chaff.  Of  the  books 
upon  Nature  Study  that  are  now  issuing  from  the  press,  to 
meet  this  fancied  want  in  the  schools,  very  few  of  them,  ac- 
cording to  my  thinking,  are  worth  the  paper  they  are  printed 
upon.  They  are  dead,  dead,  and  neither  excite  curiosity  nor 
stimulate  observation. 

John  Burroughs  has  written  this  to  me : 

I  should  have  said  in  my  Outlook  paper  that  I  would,  by 
all  means  teach  the  young  people  the  elements  of  the  great 
sciences — geology,  astronomy,  and  chemistry.  They  are 
broadening  and  freeing,  especially  the  two  former.  They 
enlarge  the  whole  mental  horizon.  I  would  also  inculcate 
the  scientific  habit  of  mind,  accuracy  of  observation,  care  in 
reading  conclusions,  etc.  Darwin  is  full  of  good  lessons  in 
this  direction.     But  I  would  not  encourage  the  young  people 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   I 3 

to  think  they  can  dissect  their  way  into  the  mystery  of  Na- 
ture, or  reach  her  through  the  laboratory. 

While  it  is  but  common-sense  opinion,  and  one 
almost  universally  admitted,  that  nature  should 
be  studied  in  her  own  domain,  as  well  as  in  the 
laboratory,  few  nature-study  or  science  teachers 
seem  to  admit  this  in  a  practical  way. 

Again  says  John  Borroughs  :  "  The  purely  edu- 
cational value  of  nature-study  is  in  its  power  to 
add  to  our  capacity  of  appreciation,  our  love  and 
enjoyment  of  all  open-air  objects." 

So  we  have  wandered,  from  nature  study  to 
nature  study,  and  we  find  that,  according  to  these 
authorities,  it  is  science  and  it  is  not  science  ;  it  is 
not  to  be  studied  in  the  fields  and  it  is ;  it  is  to 
be  pursued  in  the  schoolroom  and  it  is  the  biggest 
piece  of  nonsense  that  was  ever  seen  in  the  school- 
room. We  are  progressing.  Let  us  keep  on,  and 
we  shall  at  some  time  get  a  clear  idea,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  formulate  a  model  definition. 

Charles  B.  Scott,  in  his  "  Nature  Study  and  the 
Child,"  thus  attempts  to  define  the  subject : 

It  seems  wise,  at  the  very  beginning,  to  determine  just 
what  we  mean  by  elementary  science,  or  Nature  Study. 
This  will  prevent  ambiguity  and  misunderstanding  in  later 
discussions.  The  terms  "  elementary  science  "  and  "  Nature 
Study,"  are  both  widely  used.     Elementary  science  is,  per- 


14   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

haps,  more  exact,  and,  therefore,  more  scientific.  Nature 
Study  has  a  less  formidable  sound,  and  better  expresses  the 
spirit  in  which  the  work  should  be  undertaken.  It  seems 
much  the  better  term,  at  least,  for  the  work  in  the  first  four 
or  five  years  of  the  school  course.  The  former  term  includes 
two  ideas.  First,  it  is  elementary,  as  distinguished  from 
advanced.  In  the  aim  or  purpose  of  the  work,  in  the  ma- 
terial selected,  in  the  methods  pursued,  it  is  elementary  : 
planned  for,  and  adapted  to  the  needs  and  capacities  of  the 
pupils  of  elementary  schools.  In  the  second  place,  it  is 
science,  classified  knowledge. 

Here  is  offered  the  choice  of  another  term  for 
"  elementary  science."  That  surely  is  liberal,  and 
nobody  can  find  fault  with  the  permission  to  use 
a  term  that  has  a  "  less  formidable  sound !  " 

Let  us  get  a  few  more  examples,  and  we  shall 
then  have  the  thing  clearly  in  mind.  Perhaps  one 
of  the  best,  surely  the  most  "  taking,"  concise, 
and  euphonious,  is  that  by  Professor  Clifton  F. 
Hodge  : 

Nature  Study  is  learning  those  things  in  Nature  that  are 
best  worth  knowing,  to  the  end  of  doing  those  things  that 
make  life  most  worth  the  living. 

This  is  excellent  as  a  definition  of  his  own  idea, 
and  that  of  many  others.  We  will  note,  paren- 
thetically, that  what  I  have  had  in  mind  is  not  a 
matter  of  learning  nature,  but  of  loving  her.  It 
is  not  wholly  a  means  to  an  end,  it  is  an  end  in 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   1 5 

Itself.  The  child  loves  his  parents  for  some  end  ? 
No;  the  loving  is  an  end  in  itself.  But  never 
mind  that,  now.  Hodge  gives  us  a  commendable 
expression  of  his  idea  of  nature  study. 

Even  John  Burroughs  in  his  famous  statement 
(previously  quoted)  :  "The  purely  educational 
value  of  Nature  Study  is  in  its  power  to  add  to 
our  capacity  of  appreciation — our  love  and  enjoy- 
ment of  all  open-air  objects,"  fails  to  tell  us  what  the 
thing  is.  He  speaks  of  its  resultant  values.  So  he 
might  have  told  us  what  the  poetical,  aesthetic,  and 
other  values  are,  and  yet  not  have  defined  them. 
When  I  consider  it  seriously,  I  am  really  forced  to 
ask,  if  anyone  has  ever  defined  it  ?  Nature  study, 
in  the  popular  pedagogical  sense,  is  science — no, 
it  is  not ;  nature  study  is  a  matter  of  the  school- 
room— no,  of  outdoors;  nature  study  is  learning 
- — no,  that  is  natural  science  ;  but  they  are  one 
and  the  same — no,  they  are  not ;  nature  study  is 
— is — I  mean  such  nature  study  as  you  see  in  the 
teachers'  papers,  in  the  books  on  the  tables  at 
teachers'  institutes,  such  as  you  hear  talked  about ; 
it  is  in  the  air,  like  evolution,  or  wireless  teleg- 
raphy ;  nature  study,  in  its  ordinary,  school  sense, 
is — is — Why,  any  teacher  knows  what  nature  study 
is! 


16   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

And,  after  all,  perhaps  these  excellent  nature- 
study  writers  and  workers  are  in  the  same  "  boat," 
only  they  will  not  admit  it.  Perhaps  the  thing  is 
not  definable.  It  seems  to  me  to  be  as  intangible 
as  electricity,  or  gravitation  or  life  or  love.  We 
may  tell  much  about  it,  what  it  will  do,  and  will 
not  do  ;  we  can  go  all  about,  and  teach  it  here 
and  there,  and  watch  for  results,  but  without 
knowing  what  it  is.  We  are  in  as  great  a  difficulty 
as  was  Walt  Whitman  in  defining  the  purport  of 
his  own  poems,  "  My  final  merits  I  refuse  you." 

John  Burroughs,  in  "  Whitman,  a  Study,"  at- 
tempts to  clear  up  a  difficulty  that  he  thus  form- 
ulates :  "  A  great  many  readers,  perhaps  three- 
fourths  of  the  readers  of  current  poetry,  and  not  a 
few  of  the  writers  thereof,  cannot  stand  Whitman 
at  all,  or  see  any  reason  for  his  being."  And  in  his 
great  love  for  Whitman,  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
two  pages  are  devoted  to  an  attempt  to  clear  up 
this  difficulty.  On  the  two  hundred  and  sixty- 
third  he  thus  summarizes  his  success  :  "  After  all 
I  have  written  about  Whitman,  I  feel,  at  times, 
that  the  main  thing  I  wanted  to  say  about  him  I 
have  not  said,  cannot  say;  the  best  about  him 
cannot  be  told  about  him  anyway." 

So  it  is  with  the  spirit  of  nature  study.     Words 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  \J 

cannot  convey  the  thing.  You  must  see  it,  or  it 
is  not  there.  Light  is  useless  to  a  blind  man.  So 
I  say  as  to  the  popular  pedagogical  conception  of 
nature  study,  anybody  knows  what  it  is.  And  it 
may  well  be  added,  that  every  "  anybody's  "  is 
different  from  every  other  anybody's.  I  cannot 
even  adequately  convey  in  words  my  own  idea  of 
it.  I  can  feel  it,  and  see  it,  and  live  it,  but  I  have 
difficulty  in  defining  it.  Here  is  an  attempt  to 
convey  some  suggestion  of  what  I  have  in  mind 
for  ideal  nature  study  : 

Nature  study  is  the  examination  of  natural  ob- 
jects for  your  own  gratification,  to  satisfy  your 
own  curiosity,  to  give  you  something  to  make  your 
walks  for  exercise  and  fresh  air  more  attractive  ;  to 
free  your  mind  of  its  work-a-day  thoughts,  and  to 
supply  their  place  with  thoughts  of  God's  work  ;  to 
lead  your  attention  from  the  ugliness  and  the  evil 
that  are  in  the  world,  to  the  beauty  and  goodness 
that  are  also  in  the  world ;  to  forget  self  and  the 
troubles  of  life,  and  to  sit  in  the  sun,  and  look  at 
the  sky ;  to  wonder  if  you  really  understand  why 
it  is  blue,  and  why  the  clouds  are  white.  It  is 
nothing  less  nor  more  than  taking  an  intelligent 
interest  in  the  earth  and  its  products.  When  you 
have  taught  the  child  to  do  this,  you  will  have 


1 8   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

taught  nature  study.  And  when  you  have  taught 
nature  study,  you  will  have  taught  your  pupil  to 
be  interested  in  the  objects  on  the  earth  in  his 
own  vicinage.     The  result  is  worth  its  cost. 

Or  to  express  the  same  thing  a  little  more  con- 
cisely : 

Nature  study  is  the  creating  and  the  increasing 
of  a  loving  acquaintance  with  nature.  This  shall 
begin  and  continue  so  informally  in  love,  that, 
sooner  or  later,  it  shall  welcome  the  accompani- 
ment of  formal  knowledge.  Both  together,  both 
head  and  heart,  and  both  in  earnest,  shall  increase 
our  enjoyment  of  life,  and  our  capacity  to  en- 
joy it. 

In  either  case  the  definition  is  rather  long  and 
entirely  superfluous.  If  you  know  what  the  thing 
is,  you  do  not  need  the  definition ;  if  you  do  not 
know,  or  rather,  if  you  do  not  feel,  it  is  beyond 
the  power  of  words  to  convey  the  thought. 


CHAPTER  II 

"VAT  FOR  ISH   DAT?" 

According  to  one  of  the  New  York  daily- 
papers,  the  principal  of  a  large  grade-school  in 
that  city  had  a  decidedly  inquisitive  visitor  a  few- 
days  ago. 

He  was  sitting  in  his  office  intently  poring  over 
reports  and  excuses,  when  the  janitor  swung  open 
the  door  and  announced  : 

"  A  lady  to  see  you,  sir." 

A  German  woman  of  ponderous  size  and  wad- 
dling gait  strode  into  the  room.  Both  sleeves 
were  rolled  up  to  her  elbows.  In  her  right  hand, 
by  her  side,  she  carried  a  huge  lobster,  just  touch- 
ing the  floor,  and  swinging  in  accompaniment  with 
her  every  pacing  step.  Her  appearance  indicated 
that  it  was  indignation  which  had  separated  her 
from  the  wash-tub. 

She  swung  the  lobster  over  her  head,  and 
slapped  it  down  on  the  table  near  the  desk  with  a 
bang  that  made  the  absorbed  mind  of  the  princi- 
pal leap  from  mental  to  physical  matters. 

19 


20   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

"  Vat  ish  dat  ?  "  shouted  the  belligerent  visitor. 

"  Why-wh-y,  that,  madam,  is  a  lobster,  but " 

"  How  many  leegz  has  it  ?  " 

"  Strictly  speaking  there  are  ten,  but  only  eight 
are M 

"  How  many  claws  has  it  ? 

u  The  first  pair  of  the  ten  legs  have  large  claws, 
the  next  pair  have  small  claws,  and  the  other  two 
have  only " 

"  How  many  eyeez  has  it  ?  " 

"  The  lobster  has  two  eyes " 

"  Vat  color  is ?  " 

"  But  wait,  madam  ;  before  I  answer  any  more 
questions,  please  explain  why " 

"  Dat's  vat  I  vant  to  know — vat  for  ish  dat  your 
teacher  ask  my  Shonny  all  dese  fool  questions. 
I  vork  so  hard  at  mine  vash-tub  all  the  day  long, 
send  my  boy  Shonny  here  to  larn,  and  your 
teacher  tell  him  all  dat  shtuff,  and  ax  him  all  dese 
fool  questions.      Vat  for  ish  dat  f  " 

The  reporter  who  described  this  interview  in 
his  daily  paper  saw  only  the  humor  of  the  situ- 
ation. He  did  not  record  the  principal's  expla- 
nation, nor  the  further  interrogations  of  the  ex- 
cited parent.     For  him  it  was  enough  to  show  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   21 

ludicrousness  of  the  situation.  He  may  not  have 
repeated  the  words  of  the  conversation  verbatim, 
as  a  court  stenographer  would  have  done,  but  it 
is  evident  to  anyone  interested  in  nature  in  the 
school-room,  that  he  has  portrayed  a  phase  of 
parenthood  in  absolute  fidelity  to  fact. 

That  this  is  truth,  plain  truth  without  an  ele- 
ment of  humor,  can  be  vouched  for  by  everyone 
who  has  had  even  a  limited  knowledge  of  what 
often  results  from  the  consideration  of  natural 
objects  in  the  school-room.  To  use  a  current 
phrase,  "  This  is  a  practical  age."  Parents  form 
a  jury  before  which  the  educator  must  prove  the 
cui  bono.  He  must  show  results  worth  the  time 
consumed.  The  Why?  stares  him  in  the  face; 
he  must  be  ready  for  each  parent  who  has  a 
"  Vat  for  ish  dat  ?  "  And  if  the  results  are  not 
worth  while,  there  will  follow  a  denunciation,  as 
surely  as  the  effect  follows  the  cause.  There 
is  more  than  one  Edward  Bok,  and  more  than 
one  anonymous  editor  to  voice  the  opinion  of 
thousands  of  mothers,  and  denounce  the  over- 
crowding of  the  child's  mind.  There  are  voters 
to  reject  school  officers  if  time  consumed  is  worth 
more  than  results.  There  are  superintendents 
like    the   one   whom   I   met    in    Massachusetts, 


22   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

to  say,  "  We  didn't  have  any  room  for  that 
kind." 

But  editors,  parents,  voters,  and  school  officers 
are  not  all  who  ask,  "  Vat  for  ish  dat  ?  " 

Listen  to  Thoreau  for  a  moment : 

11  We  study  botany  and  zoology  and  geology, 
lean  and  dry  as  they  are,  and  it  is  rare  that  we 
get  a  new  suggestion.     It  is   ebb  tide  with  the 

scientific   reports,  Professor in    the    chair. 

How  little  I  know  of  that  arbor  vitae  when  I  have 
heard  only  what  science  can  tell  me.  It  is  but  a 
word,  it  is  not  a  tree  of  life." 

This  is  as  true  of  the  dilute  as  of  the  con- 
densed, of  the  kindergarten  as  of  the  university. 

Regarding  those  sciences,  Thoreau  is  asking, 
"  Vat  ish  dat  ?  " 

Then  we  have  our  own  John  Burroughs,  in  an 
Outlook  on  educational  affairs,  asking  the  same 
question  in  another  form,  as  he  denounces  worth- 
less results  and  lack  of  vitality : 

In  our  time,  it  seems  to  me,  too  much  stress  is  laid  upon 
the  letter.  We  approach  nature  in  an  exact,  calculating, 
tabulating,  mercantile  spirit.  We  seek  to  make  an  inven- 
tory of  her  storehouse.  Our  relations  with  her  take  on  the 
air  of  business,  not  of  love  and  friendship.  The  clerk  of 
the  fields  and  woods  goes  forth  with  his  block  of  printed 
tablets  upon  which,  and  under  various  heads,  he  puts  down 
what  he  sees,  and  I  suppose  foots  it  all  up  and  gets  at  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   23 

exact  sum  of  the  knowledge  when  he  gets  back  home.  He 
is  so  intent  upon  the  bare  fact  that  he  does  not  see  the  spirit 
or  meaning  of  the  whole.  He  does  not  see  the  bird,  he  sees 
an  ornithological  specimen  ;  he  does  not  see  the  wild  flower, 
he  sees  a  new  acquisition  to  his  herbarium  ;  in  the  bird's 
nest  he  sees  only  another  prize  for  his  collection.  Of  that 
sympathetic  and  emotional  intercourse  with  nature  which 
soothes  and  enriches  the  soul,  he  experiences  little  or  none. 

Professor  Hodge  had  evidently  heard  of  or 
met  the  German  washerwoman,  or  other  like 
minded  folk  with  a  "  Vat  for  ish  dat  ?  "  for  he 
writes  in  "Nature  Study  and  Life  "  : 

But,  the  teacher  says,  the  parents  make  all  sorts  of  ob- 
jections to  nature  study,  call  it  a  "  fad,"  "  nonsense,"  com- 
plain of  ' (  waste  of  time  on  new-fangled  notions, ' '  say  that 
"  they  never  had  to  learn  such  stuff."  These  objections  of 
the  home  are  for  the  most  part  right  as  to  what  often  goes 
by  the  name  of  nature  study,  and  nothing  could  be  more 
helpful  for  development  of  ideal  courses  adapted  to  local 
conditions,  than  to  invite  their  freest  possible  expression. 
If  we  cannot  find  a  nature  study  worth  while,  a  nature  study 
so  full  of  human  good  that  it  will  meet  and  overcome  all 
such  objections,  then  we  should  devote  the  time  to  other 
subjects.  But  from  several  years'  experience,  the  writer  is 
confident  that  all  reasonable  objections  can  be  met,  and 
that  we  can  find  a  nature  study  so  good  that  this  attitude  of 
parents  can  be  completely  reversed  and  their  interest  and 
enthusiasm  so  thoroughly  aroused  that  they  will  say  :  ' '  We 
had  no  chance  to  learn  these  things,  but  we  wish  our  chil- 
dren might  be  given  the  opportunity  and  teach  us." 

The  trouble  is,  as  has  been  so  often  reiterated, 
that   few  teachers  swing   themselves   around   to 


24      HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

the  child's  standpoint.  In  some  studies,  the 
teacher  must  be  a  teacher,  above  the  child,  tell- 
ing the  child.  To  overcome  the  onesidedness  of 
a  school  limited  to  mere  instruction,  nature  study- 
has  been  introduced  as  the  most  available  field  in 
which  to  let  the  child  do  the  telling.  But,  sim- 
ple as  this  is,  it  seems  an  exceedingly  difficult 
thing  for  some  teachers  to  understand.  Hence 
the  opposition  which  it  meets  in  some  commu- 
nities, and  the  amusing  paragraphs  so  frequently 
seen  in  print.  One  of  these  (shall  we  call  them 
sad  but  literal  statements  of  certain  real  condi- 
tions ?)  is  the  following  from  the  Youttis  Compan- 
ion.    It  is  a  fair  example  : 

A  small  girl  who  has  just  begun  to  attend  school  brought 
home  a  pumpkin  seed  and  told  her  mother  that  the  teacher 
said  that,  although  the  seed  was  white,  the  pumpkin  would 
be  yellow. 

"And  what  will  the  color  of  the  vines  be?"  asked  the 
mother. 

The  little  girl  replied  that  the  teacher  had  not  taught  her 
that. 

11  But,"  said  her  mother,  "  you  know,  dear,  for  we  have 
pumpkin  vines  in  our  garden." 

•'  Of  course  I  do,  but  we  ain't  expected  to  know  anything 
until  we  are  taught." 

It  is  the  parents  of  those  children  who  are  the 
victims  of  such  nature-study  instruction  that  will 


• 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   2$ 

inquire,  with  frowning  brow  and  threatening  tone, 
"  Vat  for  ish  dat  ?  " 

The  reverse  of  this  lobster-pumpkin  teaching 
is  the  true  doctrine. 

C.  B.  Scott,  in  his  "  Nature  Study  and  the 
Child  "  occupies  the  correct  standpoint. 

More  than  is  the  case  with  most  other  studies,  probably, 
science,  or  nature  study,  deals  with  the  individual  child, 
and  aims  to  develop  each  child  as  an  individual.  It  places 
the  material  in  the  hands  of  each  child,  and  expects  him  to 
see  and  think  and  tell  for  himself.  Nature  is  many-sided  ; 
and  when  pupils  observe  for  themselves,  each  will  have  a 
different  point  of  view,  will  see  a  different  side.  The  teacher 
will  thereby  be  helped  to  realize  the  difficulty,  the  impossi- 
bility, and,  finally,  the  viciousness,  of  teaching  en  masse,  of 
teaching  classes  rather  than  individuals,  and  will  recognize, 
respect,  and  at  length  encourage  and  develop,  the  individ- 
uality and  self-reliance  of  the  pupil.  .  .  . 

We  are  more  and  more  endeavoring  in  our  schools,  from 
university  to  kindergarten,  to  have  our  students  get  more 
than  facts  ;  we  are  striving  to  develop  their  intellectual 
powers — of  seeing  or  apprehending  for  themselves,  of  think- 
ing or  combining  ideas  in  their  relations,  of  expressing  or 
conveying  these  ideas  to  others,  and  of  doing  or  making 
their  ideas  active  or  effective. 

And  it  may  well  be  added  that  this  original 
seeing  and  telling  by  the  child  are  not  to  be  con- 
fined to  nature  study.  What  a  glorious  thing  it 
would  be  if  education  could  take  the  place  of  in- 
struction, if  the  nature-study  point  of  view  could 


26   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

be  added  to  all  studies.  Elbert  Howard  says, 
"  The  kindergarten  is  the  best  school  ever  estab- 
lished for  educating — parents."  And  I  add,  for 
educating  teachers. 

Nature  pedagogy  is  the  true  pedagogy  ;  let 
the  spirit  of  it  permeate  and  give  vitality  to  every 
feature  of  the  schoolroom  so  strongly,  that  it  will 
accompany  the  child  through  his  life. 

Dr.  J.  E.  Taylor,  late  editor  of  "  Science  Gos- 
sip," and  a  writer  of  scientific  books,  says : 

Is  there  anything  more  delightful  than  the  fatigue  of  an 
afternoon's  long  ramble  after  objects  one  loves  ?  You  are  not 
tired  of  them  but  with  them.  It  is  a  delicious  fatigue. 
Subsequent  years  of  trouble  cannot  obliterate  the  charmed 
impressions.  They  are  the  sunniest  spots  in  one's  memory. 
Their  recollections  come,  like  angels'  visits,  to  unconsciously 
relieve  us  in  after  years  of  many  a  sad  trouble  and  trial. 
They  should  be  laid  up  in  store  when  you  are  young,  so  that 
they  can  be  drawn  upon  when  you  are  old.  Then  the  sun- 
shine of  youth  is  stored  to  gild  the  troubled  days  of  matured 
manhood  and  the  darker  shadows  of  old  age. 

That  is  "  vat  it  ish  for."  That  is  what  we 
teachers  shall  not  need  to  explain,  if  we  act  so 
that  the  question  need  not  be  asked.  We  shall 
arouse  the  child,  and  make  that  waking  so  notice- 
able by  the  parent  that  he  will  fail  to  observe  the 
lobster. 

We  would  not  make  the  child's  mind  a  dump- 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   27 

ing  ground  for  fad-zeal  facts,  nor  a  target  for 
volleys  fired  according  to  schedule.  We  would 
put  him  and  his  mind  into  an  atmosphere  of 
things  good,  true,  and  beautiful.  Even  his  un- 
cultured parents  will  appreciate  that  and  say, 
"  Dat  ish  goot.  Mine  Shonny  hab  ein  goot 
teacher." 

And  of  this  environment,  this  atmosphere  of 
out-door  life,  there  come  words  of  commendation 
from  cultured  writers  and  thinkers.  Take  a  prom- 
inent representative.  Hear  the  words  of  Ham- 
ilton Wright  Mabie : 

There,  are,  however,  habits  and  qualities  which  are  char- 
acteristic of  those  who  succeed  in  establishing  this  relation- 
ship with  nature. 

They  are,  in  the  first  place,  very  constantly  in  the  pres- 
ence and  company  of  Nature.  They  not  only  seize,  they 
make  opportunities  for  getting  into  the  woods,  for  loitering 
in  the  fields,  for  exploring  the  streams,  for  walking  across 
the  country.  .  .  . 

These  persons  form  the  habit,  in  the  second  place,  of 
leaving  their  cares,  work,  interests,  and  self-consciousness 
behind  them  when  they  go  out  under  the  clear  sky,  along 
the  country  road,  or  into  deep  woods.  They  go  with  an 
open  mind  ;  they  are  alert  to  observe,  but  they  are  above  all 
things  else  ready  to  receive  whatever  truth,  power,  or  spirit 
Nature  has  to  impart. 

It  is  worth  while  to  have  all  children  in  such 
intimate   relations    with    Mother   Nature.      Her 


28   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Dulce  Domum  will  then  be  dulce  domum  not 
only  in  the  desire  of  the  teacher,  who  has  the 
child's  welfare  at  heart,  but  dulce  domum  in  fact. 

Perhaps  your  son  cannot  be  rich  in  money  or  gee- 
gaws,  but  he  can  be  wealthy  in  his  ownership  of 
the  world.  As  Bunyan  said,  u  I  have  known  many 
laboring  men  that  have  got  good  estates  in  this 
valley,"  and  Bradford  Torrey  tells  us,  that,  "  His 
private  opinion  is  that  the  world  belongs  to  those 
who  enjoy  it ;  and  taking  this  view  of  the  matter 
he  cannot  help  thinking  that  some  of  his  more 
prosperous  neighbors  would  do  well  in  legal 
phrase,  to  perfect  their  titles.  He  would  gladly  be 
of  service  to  them  in  this  regard." 

I  hope  that  all  teachers  may  be  of  service  to 
our  boys  and  girls,  in  this  regard.  Rightly 
viewed  that  "  ish  vat  it  ish  for."  Many  persons 
"  want  the  earth  ;  "  so  do  we,  but  we  want  it  with 
no  "  fence  around  it."  Let  old  and  young  break 
through  the  palings,  and  take  possession  of  their 
birthright,  with  all  its  multitudinous  resources  of 
enjoyment,  and  be  at  home  there. 

Thoreau  thought  that  the  holder  of  the  deed 
was  not  really  the  best  owner : 

How  when  a  man  purchases  a  thing,  he  is  determined  to 
get  and  get  hold  of  it,  using  how  many  expletives  and  how 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   29 

long  a  string  of  synonymous  or  similar  terms  signifying  pos- 
session in  the  legal  process.  What's  mine's  my  own.  An 
old  deed  of  a  small  piece  of  swamp  land,  which  I  have  lately 
surveyed  at  the  risk  of  being  mired  past  recovery,  says  that 
"the  said  Spaulding,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  shall  and  may 
from  this  (?)  time,  and  at  all  times  forever  hereafter,  by 
force  and  virtue  of  these  presents,  lawfully,  peaceably,  and 
quietly  have,  hold,  use,  occupy,  possess,  and  enjoy  the  said 
swamp,"  etc. 

I  like  that  kind  of  socialism.  I  hope  the  teacher 
will  help  your  son  to  get  it.  We  believe  in  uni- 
versal ownership  here.  We  want  to  be  rich  and 
noble.  Our  philosopher  Emerson  tells  us  how  to 
do  it,  and  we  are  trying  to  tell  your  boys. 

He  who  knows  what  sweets  and  virtues  are  in  the  ground, 
the  waters,  the  plants,  the  heavens,  and  how  to  come  at 
these  enchantments  is  the  rich  and  royal  man. 

I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  it  is  worth 
while  for  your  son  to  be  rich  and  royal.  If  we 
are  not  on  the  right  road  to  riches  and  royalty 
with  that  lobster,  we  will  get  something  else,  and 
another  teacher  with  it. 

"  Nature  is  loved  by  what  is  best  in  us,M  further 
says  Emerson.  We  want  to  bring  out  the  best  in 
your  boy ;  we  believe  that  exercise  strengthens 
and  develops.  We  are  going  to  strengthen  and 
develop  that "  best  "  by  the  persistent  exercise  of 


30   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

the  nature  love,  which  we  sometimes  call  nature 
study. 

Do  not  be  in  haste  to  go  ;  sit  still  for  a  mo- 
ment, your  son  is  worth  more  than  those  clothes 
in  the  tub.  Let  me  explain  further.  You  want 
him  to  do  great  deeds,  I  suppose?  Did  you  ever 
hear  of  Ruskin  ?  He  was  a  wise  man,  who  got 
below  the  surface  of  things.     He  said : 

The  greatest  thing  a  human  soul  ever  does  in  this  world  is 
to  see  something,  and  tell  what  it  saw  in  a  plain  way.  Hun- 
dreds of  people  can  talk  for  one  who  can  think,  but  thou- 
sands can  think  for  one  who  can  see.  To  see  clearly  is 
poetry,  prophecy,  and  religion,  all  in  one. 

We  want  to  develop  your  boy's  originality,  not 
to  pack  his  head  with  useless  facts.  We  want  to 
help  him'to  see  things  and  to  tell  what  he  sees.  To 
see  them  in  their  right  relations  ;  to  wake  up  and 
realize  that  life  is  worth  living,  and  worth  living, 
too,  in  its  fullest  capacity,  and  in  the  best  man- 
ner. We  want  to  put  him  under  the  influence  of 
Mother  Nature,  because  we  can  find  no  other 
power  of  development  so  beneficent. 

Your  boy  may  never  be  rich  or  great  or  influ- 
ential, except  in  the  way  that  I  have  indicated. 
Let  him  have  that  at  lea — no,  at  most.  He  may 
never  be  a  famous  writer,  nor  a  poet,  but  he  may 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   3 1 

live  a  famous  and  poetical  life,  about  which  per- 
haps he  only  will  ever  know,  and  while  he  may 
never  be  able  to  express  himself  with  Words- 
worth's skill,  yet  he  may  live  his  poetry  in  all  the 
fullness  with  which  Wordsworth  lived  it  as  a 
boy: 

There  was  a  Boy  ;  ye  knew  him  well,  ye  Cliffs 

And  islands  of  Winander  ! — many  a  time, 

At  evening,  when  the  earliest  stars  began 

To  move  along  the  edges  of  the  hills, 

Rising  or  setting,  would  he  stand  alone, 

Beneath  the  trees,  or  by  the  glimmering  lake  ; 

And  then,  with  fingers  interwoven,  both  hands 

Pressed  closely  palm  to  palm  and  to  his  mouth 

Uplifted,  he,  as  through  an  instrument, 

Blew  mimic  hootings  to  the  silent  owls, 

That  they  might  answer  him. — And  they  would  shout 

Across  the  watery  vale,  and  shout  again, 

Responsive  to  his  call — with  quivering  peals, 

And  long  halloos,  and  screams,  and  echoes  wild 

Of  mirth  and  jocund  din  !     And,  when  it  chanced 

That  pauses  of  deep  silence  mocked  his  skill, 

Then,  sometimes,  in  that  silence,  while  he  hung 

Listening,  a  gentle  shock  of  mild  surprise 

Has  carried  far  into  his  heart  the  voice 

Of  mountain  torrents  ;  or  the  visible  scene 

Would  enter  unawares  into  his  mind, 

With  all  its  solemn  imagery,  its  rocks, 

Its  woods,  and  that  uncertain  heaven,  received 

Into  the  bosom  of  the  steady  lake. 

Many  young   folks  do  live  in  this  way,  until 
they  are  given  too  much  lobster! 


32       HOW  NATURE   STUDY  SHOULD   BE  TAUGHT 
The    Point   of  View. 

The  prime  necessity  for  good  nature-study 
"  teaching"  is  the  point  of  view,  what  the  thing 
is  from  your  own  appreciation  of  it,  and  then  the 
purpose  in  transferring  that  appreciation  to  each 
child.  I  say,  "your  own  appreciation,'*  because 
we  get,  in  this  world,  what  we  prepare  for,  and 
what  we  give.  If  you  want  to  develop  the  in- 
dividuality and  love  of  the  child,  first  develop 
and  make  sure  of  your  own  individuality  and 
love,  and  then  give  generously  to  the  child. 
Establish  a  comradeship  with  every  pupil. 

I  fancy  that  some  one  may  object  to  the  reply 
which  the  principal  made  to  the  German  washer- 
woman, when  he  tried  to  explain  the  purposes  of 
nature  study,  and  that  some  one  may  claim  that 
he  expected  too  much,  because  the  woman's  son 
may  not  have  the  ability  to  be  a  Wordsworth 
boy.  And  if  you  do  say  that,  it  is  right  there 
that  you  make  a  mistake.  He  loves  something 
exactly  as  Wordsworth  loved.  It  probably  is 
not  "  ye  cliffs  and  islands  of  Winander."  But  it 
is  something  else  with  an  equal  love.  Your  duty 
is  to  find  out  that  love.  If  it  is  worthy,  then  de- 
velop it.     If  it  is  not  worthy,  then  guide  it  to 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   33 

something  that  is.  Therein  is  your  mission  as  a 
nature-study  teacher,  to  find  out,  develop,  guide, 
a  love  for  natural  objects.  Few  can  write  as 
Wordsworth  wrote  of  his  boyhood.  But  where  is 
the  boy  that  cannot,  that  does  not  live  it  in  all 
the  fullness  of  spirit  that  Wordsworth  lived  it  as 
a  boy.  Few  can  write  good  poetry,  but  every  one 
can  and  does  live  it  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent. 
Every  man,  woman,  and  child  is  a  poet-naturalist. 
The  child's  play,  the  woman's  hopes,  the  man's 
ambitions,  the  philosopher's  hypotheses  are  all 
poetry,  though  we  may  call  them  fancies  or  the 
building  of  air-castles.  They  are  all  true  poetry, 
the  charm  that  makes  life  worth  living,  the  illu- 
mination of  life  by  the  light  that  was  never  on 
sea  or  land. 

And  every  one  is  a  naturalist.  No  one  is  so 
senseless  as  not  to  appreciate  sunshine,  flowing 
water,  the  ocean,  trees,  flowers,  something.  Find 
out  that  poetry,  that  something,  then  develop  it. 
It  is  a  high  calling  that  comes  to  you,  nature- 
study  teacher.  It  is  for  you  to  develop  your 
poet-naturalists,  and  you  are  responsible  for  just 
as  many  as  there  are  pupils  in  your  school. 
3 


"  Nature  Study  trains  us  to  keep  our  eyes  open  to  the 
living  things  about  us  and  to  an  earnest  inquiry  into  the 
meaning  of  what  we  see."— A.  C.  Boyden. 

"  It  can  never  be  too  strongly  impressed  upon  a  mind 
anxious  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  that  the  com- 
monest things  by  which  we  are  surrounded  are  deserving 
of  minute  and  careful  attention." — Rennie. 

I  wrote  a  sober,  scientific  account  of  all  its  parts,  with- 
out a  spark  of  life  in  it — but  I  threw  it  away.  I  know  now 
that  there  is  something  better  than  the  botany  of  the 
Horse  Chestnut  tree,  and  that  is  the  poetry  of  it.  .  .  . 
There  is  poetry  and  beauty  all  around  us  in  every  common 
thing,  and  we,  who  have  had  health  and  eyes,  have  not 
seen  it.  Let  us  wake  up  and  look  about  us  and  get  the 
most  out  of  life  every  day  that  we  live !  Happiest  are 
they  who  can  still  look  out  upon  Nature  with  the  eyes  of 
childhood  !  .  .  .  The  first  thing  is  to  open  the  heart.  The 
next  thing  is  to  open  the  eyes. 

Julia  Ellen  Rogers,  in  "Among  Green  Trees" 

"As  a  rule,  children  observe  well ;  but  a  false  method 
of  teaching  especially  that  which  reduces  all  school  work 
to  a  study  of  books,  often  destroys  this  natural  tendency. 
When  we  reflect  what  an  important  factor  in  mental 
growth  the  habit  of  close  and  accurate  observation  is,  we 
can  but  deplore  that  so  much  of  our  school  work  tends  to 
diminish  rather  than  to  increase  this  power.  Nature  study 
if  so  taught  as  to  awaken  interest,  rather  than  fatigue  the 
pupil,  can  be  made  an  important  aid  in  the  development 
of  this  power."— Education  through  Nature  Study,  John 
P.  Munson,  Ph.  D. 

34 


CHAPTER  III 

WINNING  LOVE  FOR  NATURE  STUDY 

11  Nature  study  is  never  a  task,  but  a  tonic.     It  recreates." 

Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott. 

There  often  comes  to  my  mind  a  paradoxical 
story  heard  in  my  boyhood  days,  of  an  Irishman 
(for  the  Irishman  is  proverbially  and  everywhere 
a  wit),  who  at  a  country  store  was  endeavoring  to 
secure  a  proper-sized  pair  of  cowhide  boots. 

He  maintained  that  No.  10  was  the  required 
size,  but  the  storekeeper  insisted  that  No.  14  would 
be  a  better  fit.  It  seemed  evident  that  the  mer- 
chant was  right,  for  Pat  could  not  draw  on  the 
No.  io's.  Still,  as  he  tugged  at  the  straps  he 
declared  that  10  was  the  number,  and  that  his  in- 
ability to  get  them  on  was  due  only  to  the  stiff- 
ness of  the  leather.  Suddenly  his  flushed  and 
perspiring  face  lit  up  with  a  mingling  of  smiles 
and  inspiration.  The  problem  was  solved.  Yet 
there  was  a  shade  of  disgust  apparent  because 
his  bright  idea  had  not  come  sooner,  to  save  him 
some  hard  and  futile  work. 

35 


$6      HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

"  Shure,"  he  said,  "  and  why  didn't  I  think  of 
it  before?  All  the  trouble  is  I've  got  to  wear 
thim  boots  a  few  days  to  limber  thim  up,  an'  thin 
they'll  go  on  aisy." 

My  interest  in  the  story,  and  hence  my  vivid 
recollection,  is  not  due  so  much  to  the  absurdity 
of  the  situation,  as  to  my  sympathy  with  Pat ! 
The  remembrance  of  the  amusing  phases  of  the 
tale  are  mingled  with  my  attempt  to  reconcile 
with  boyish  logic,  the  two  facts,  that,  while  Pat 
in  the  main  was  wholly  wrong,  yet,  from  a  certain 
standpoint,  he  was  more  than  half  right. 

The  Irishman's  logic  has  a  host  of  sympathizers 
among  those  who  attempt  to  do  certain  things. 
As  the  architect's  plans  precede  the  building,  so 
in  most  cases,  the  object  must  be  completed  in 
spirit,  before  it. is  even  begun  in  reality.  This  is 
emphatically  true  in  winning  love  for  the  study  of 
nature  ;  the  germ  must  exist  before  the  love  can 
be  developed.  Something  can  seldom  be  made 
out  of  nothing. 

As  Wordsworth  says  of  his  poet, — 

11  You  must  love  him,  ere  to  you 
He  will  seem  worthy  of  your  love." 

There  must  be  an  inherent  love  for  nature  before 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   37 

nature  will  seem  to  be  lovable.  We  may  talk  about 
the  lovableness  of  nature,  but  we  must  inspire  an 
interest,  and  arouse  a  curiosity,  before  we  exhibit 
nature's  wonders  and  beauties.  At  first  thought 
and  in  the  first  attempt,  this  would  not  seem  to  be 
the  correct  method.  The  non-lover  might  reason- 
ably argue,  that  if  nature  is  so  instructive  and  so 
lovable,  then  the  best  method  must  be  to  collate 
her  interesting  and  winning  points,  and  by  their 
graceful  and  attractive  presentation,  win  the  af- 
fection that  we  are  seeking.  That  process  applied 
where  there  is  no  inherent  and  dormant  love,  may 
obtain  a  transient  result,  but  it  will  be  illusive 
and  hypocritical.  Do  not  mistake  open-mouthed 
wonder  and  open-eyed  exclamations  of  surprise 
for  love  of  nature.  Such  dime-museum  interest 
is  worse  than  none.  It  is  repellant  and  ludicrous. 
How  well  Mark  Twain  has  presented  this  method 
of  viewing  interesting  things.  You  will  recall  his 
experience  with  the  European  guide : 

"All  their  lives  long,  they  are  employed  in 
showing  strange  things  and  listening  to  bursts  of 
admiration.  It  is  human  nature  to  take  delight 
in  exciting  admiration. 

"  After  we  discovered  this,  we  never  went  into 
ecstasies  any  more,  we  never  admired  anything, 


38   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

we  never  showed  any  but  impassible  faces  and 
stupid  indifference,  in  the  presence  of  the  sub- 
limest  wonders  a  guide  has  to  display.  We  found 
their  weak  point.  We  have  made  good  use  of  it 
ever  since. 

"  '  Come  wis  me,  gentlemen  !  come  !  I  show 
you  ze  letter  writing  Christopher  Colombo  !  write 
it  himself !  write  it  with  his  own  hand !  come  ! ' 

"  He  took  us  to  the  municipal  palace.  After 
much  impressive  fumbling  of  keys  and  opening  of 
lock,  the  stained  and  aged  document  was  spread 
before  us.  The  guide's  eyes  sparkled.  He 
danced  about  us  and  tapped  the  parchment  with 
his  finger : 

"  '  What  I  tell  you,  gentlemen  !  Is  it  not  so? 
See!  Handwriting  Christopher  Colombo  !  Write 
it  himself ! ' 

"We  looked  indifferent,  unconcerned.  The 
doctor  examined  the  document  very  deliberately, 
during  a  painful  pause.  Then  he  said,  without 
any  show  of  interest :  '  Ah,  Ferguson,  what  did 
you  say  was  the  name  of  the  party  who  wrote 
this?' 

"  *  Christopher  Colombo  !  ze  great  Christopher 
Colombo!  ' 

"  Another  deliberate  examination. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   39 

"  *  Ah,  did  he  write  it  himself,  or — or  how  ? ' 

"  '  He  write  it  himself !  Christopher  Colombo  ! 
He's  own  handwriting ;  write  it  by  himself.* 

"  Then  the  doctor  laid  down  the  document  and 
said : 

"  '  Why,  I  have  seen  boys  in  America  only 
fourteen  years  old  that  could  write  better  than 
that.' 

11  *  But  zis  is  ze  great  Christo '  " 

"  '  I  don't  care  who  it  is  !  It's  the  worst  writ- 
ing I  ever  saw.  Now  you  mustn't  think  you  can 
impose  on  us  because  we  are  strangers.  We  are 
not  fools  by  a  good  deal.  If  you  have  got  any 
specimens  of  penmanship  of  real  merit,  trot  them 
out !     If  you  haven't  drive  on  ! '     We  drove  on." 

You  will  recall  the  conversation  (with  a  touch 
of  sympathy  perhaps  for  the  guide),  as  he  shows 
a  bust  of  Columbus  and  an  Egyptian  mummy. 

As  the  humorist  was  apparently  impressed  by 
his  frantic  efforts  to  present  his  wonders  so  as  to 
win  exclamations  of  admiration,  and  to  arouse 
the  traveler's  interest  in  those  antiquarian  affairs, 
so  in  reality  many  a  boy  or  girl  is  impressed,  and 
often  likewise  those  of  older  growth,  but  the  im- 
pression vanishes  with  the  Oh,  and  Ah,  and  Oh 
my,  which  the  efforts  excite. 


40   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Therein  partly  lies  the  explanation  of  the  quiz- 
zical, semi-amused  sentiment  so  commonly  felt 
for  the  naturalist,  by  his  ignorant  aquaintances. 
For  the  learned  and  loving  naturalist  to  attempt 
to  win  for  nature  the  love  of  such  unimpression- 
able persons,  is  like  an  attempt  to  talk  with  the 
inhabitants  of  another  planet,  or  as  some  one  has 
humorously  expressed  the  same  principle,  like  a 
young  man  trying  to  throw  kisses  at  a  pretty  girl 
across  a  dark  room. 

It  is  as  paradoxical  with  us  as  it  was  with  Pat, 
if  we  try  to  win  a  love  for  the  study  of  nature 
where  it  does  not  originally  exist.  The  result  of 
that  will  always  be  failure,  and  a  waste  of  nerve 
force.  The  adage,  "  You  can  never  make  a  silk 
purse  out  of  a  sow's  ear,"  is  ugly.  Yet,  it  is 
beautiful  because  it  is  true.  Watch  an  enthu- 
siastic herpetologist,  entomologist,  or  botanist,  at 
his  studies,  and  hear  him  tell  of  their  delights, 
and  observe  how  much  love  for  his  pursuits  he 
will  arouse  where  there  is  no  dormant  love  to  be 
excited.  "  Poor  man,  you  may  be  all  right  in 
the  main,  but  there  is  a  '  brick  '  loose  somewhere." 
Is  not  that  the  poorly  concealed  opinion  ?  Such 
futile  efforts  are  made  in  many  a  school-room, 
partly  from  a  lack  of  true  understanding  of  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   41 

situation,  and  partly,  perhaps  largely,  from  very 
force  of  circumstances.  Instruction  may  be  im-. 
parted,  but  the  real  educational  value  to  be 
had  in  learning  of  some  detail  of  nature,  is  about 
as  valuable  as  to  learn  the  population  of  some 
little  village  a  thousand  miles  distant.  Neither 
fact  will  be  the  child's  own.  The  instruction  has 
been  given,  but  the  value  of  the  educational  prop- 
erty is  not  appreciated  and  is  lost. 

There  may  be  a  large  love  of  nature,  yet  wholly 
unknown  because  dormant.  To  suggest  a  method 
for  the  winning  of  this  love  is  the  purpose  of  this 
chapter.  A  love  for  nature  must  be  won  and  in- 
creased by  a  corresponding  love  on  the  part  of 
the  teacher,  expressed  freely  and  practiced  fully. 
As  Barnet  Phillips  in  the  preface  to  "  Eye  Spy  " 
has  it : 

"  What  I  want  to  discover  is  the  precise  time, 
in  the  lives  of  certain  boys  and  girls,  when  the 
steel  first  struck  the  flint,  the  spark  flew,  and  out 
streamed  that  jet  of  fire  which  never  afterwards 
was  extinguished." 

William  Hamilton  Gibson  tells  us  how  this  was 
in  his  boyhood  days : 

"  I  was  very  young  and  playing  in  the  woods. 
I  tossed  over  the  fallen  leaves,  when  I  came  across 


42       HOW   NATURE   STUDY   SHOULD   BE  TAUGHT 

a  chrysalis.  There  was  nothing  remarkable  in 
that,  for  I  knew  what  it  was.  But  wonderful  to 
relate,  providentially  I  deem  it — as  I  held  the  ob- 
ject in  my  hand  a  butterfly  slowly  emerged,  then 
fluttered  in  my  fingers.  I  was  more  than  pleased 
with  its  beauty.  I  do  not  know  whether  I  was 
or  was  not  a  youngster  with  an  imagination,  but 
suddenly  the  spiritual  view  of  a  new  or  of  another 
life  struck  me.  I  saw  in  this  jewel  born  from  an 
unadorned  casket  some  inkling  of  immortality. 
Yes,  that  butterfly  breaking  from  its  chrysalis  in 
my  hand  shaped  my  future  career." 

As  the  child  never  truly  makes  such  instruction 
his  own  if  it  does  not  find  response  in  his  heart,  so 
pitiable  as  it  is,  many  older  "children  in  the  kinder- 
garten of  God  "  never  utilize  their  most  valuable 
inheritance,  because  it  does  not  reach  the  heart. 

The  deed  to  such  possession  of  the  world  is  love 
of  nature,  the  love  that  you  must  win  by  love  and 
by  the  telling  of  it.  You  must  have  a  love  for 
nature  before  you  can  win  it  for  her  from  others. 
Then  "  both  head  and  heart  and  both  in  earnest." 
You  must  wear  the  boots  for  the  child  first ;  you 
must  get  him  into  your  world  and  to  understand  the 
language  of  nature,  for  indeed  "  Nature  speaks  a 
varied  language."  She  may  have  her  surprises,  but 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   43 

it  is  to  be  doubted  whether  she  has  loveliness  and 
beauty,  except  as  reflected  from  the  human  heart. 
The  pathway  to  this  is  not  through  the  sur- 
prises, but  through  us,  and  our  heartfelt  apprecia- 
tion. More  than  that,  it  is  ourselves.  Or,  as 
Bryant  tells  us, 

11  Yet  these  sweet  sounds  of  the  early  season, 
And  these  fair  sights  of  its  sunny  days, 
Are  only  sweet  as  we  fondly  listen, 
And  only  fair  as  we  fondly  gaze. 

There  is  no  glory  in  star  or  blossom, 
Till  looked  upon  by  a  loving  eye  ; 
There  is  no  fragrance  in  April  breezes 
Till  breathed  with  joy  as  they  wander  by." 

You  must  wear  the  boots  before  you  can  put 
them  on.  The  youthful  David  felt  this,  for,  of 
the  new  armor  which  Saul  gave  him,  he  said,  "I 
cannot  go  with  these  for  I  have  not  proved  them. 
And  David  put  them  off."  Practically,  he  could 
not  wear  them  until  he  had  previously  worn  them. 

There  must  be  the  stock  before  the  graft ;  the 
seed  before  the  plant  can  develop.  Therefore, 
talk  about  the  attractions  of  nature  and  of  her 
beauties,  especially  of  the  beauties.  It  was  the 
Christ  himself  that  exclaimed  at  the  beauty  of 
the  lilies  of  Palestine.  It  is  the  Eternal  God 
himself  that   looked  at  his  completed  work  and 


44   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

said,  "  It  is  good."  And  he  put  the  first  man  in 
a  garden,  with  the  perfect  beauty  of  nature  sur- 
rounding and  embracing  him. 

Show  the  child  the  beauty  surrounding  him, 
provided  you  are  sufficiently  skillful  and  sufficiently 
in  love  with  that  beauty  to  find  it.  But  it  is  every- 
where. You  can  teach  the  pupil  to  appreciate  it, 
although  he  may  have  no  inherent  love  for  so 
called  Natural  History.  The  greatest  artists  are 
rarely  naturalists.  The  sculptor  studies  human 
anatomy,  not  because  he  wants  to  be  an  anatomist, 
but  to  make  his  work  more  nearly  perfect.  Ex- 
patiate to  your  pupils  on  the  beauty  of  nature. 
Then  show  them  some,  and  keep  on  showing  them 
if  you  want  to  do  good  work.  We  all  crave  the 
beautiful.  Even  the  paper  on  our  wall  is  now 
what  we  call  artistic;  even  the  iron  register 
through  which  the  demon  in  the  cellar  dashes  his 
hot  blasts,  are  made  graceful  and  alluring  to  the 
eye.  We  all  crave  beauty,  when  we  have  been 
taught  that  there  is  such  a  thing  outside  of 
heaven. 

Life,  progress,  and  growth  are  always  interest- 
ing. We  all  like  to  watch  a  train  leave  the  station, 
men  digging  a  cellar,  carpenters  building  a  house, 
or  a  plant  or  an  animal  in  its  development.     This 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   45 

fact  can  be  utilized,  and  is  successfully  utilized 
in  the  school-room  and  in  out-of-door  work 
in  sense  training.  Notice  the  changes  in  foliage 
color  in  a  landscape ;  recognize  the  changes  that 
take  place  in  the  prevailing  hue  of  flowers  as  sea- 
son follows  season,  from  the  white  of  the  earliest 
to  the  dark  purple  of  the  autumn  Asters.  Seeing 
the  actual  changes  awakens  interest,  and  when 
awakened,  it  will  branch  out  in  other  directions. 
Then  your  battle  is  won. 

A  healthy  child  is  an  animated  interrogation 
point.  When  he  learns  that  many  of  his  ques- 
tions can  be  answered  by  keeping  his  sense  alert, 
he  will  find  his  appetite  in  this  direction  wonder- 
fully and  joyously  growing.  He  will  need  help 
and  guidance.  But  the  desire  and  determination 
to  dig  a  thing  out  for  himself,  is  of  inestimable 
value  for  increasing  his  happiness,  and  should 
never  be  repressed. 

Nature  study  in  its  present  pedagogical  mean- 
ing, is  not  systematic  study  of  nature,  for  that  is 
science.  Nature  study  is  emotional,  as  science  is 
intellectual.  Anna  Botsford  Comstock  has  well 
expressed  this  opinion. 

"  When  the  idea  of  nature  study  first  dawned 
in  the  educational  world,  it  was  inevitably  con- 


46   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

fused  with  the  sciences  on  which  it  is  based.  To- 
day  nature  study  and  science,  while  they  may 
deal  with  the  same  objects,  view  them  from  op- 
posite standpoints.  Nature  study  is  not  syn- 
thetic ;  it  takes  for  its  central  thought  the  child, 
and  for  its  field  work  the  child's  natural  environ- 
ment." 

But  some  one  may  still  insist,  if  nature  is  so 
interesting  and  lovable,  it  is  sufficient  to  allow  her 
interests  and  attractions  to  speak  for  themselves. 
Yes,  but  they  never  will.  They  need  an  inter- 
preter. When  the  young  man  goes  a-wooing, 
does  he  constantly  talk  only  of  his  own  excel- 
lences and  possessions?  or  when  a  man  is  seeking 
his  wife's  happiness,  does  he  depend  on  his  inten- 
tion to  furnish  her  with  a  good  home  and  plenty 
of  money  ?  Does  not  something  come  in  ahead 
of  temporal  considerations.  The  expression  of 
love,  is  it  not  ? 

Yet  mere  oral  expression  is  not  enough.  A 
child  can  detect  a  hypocrite  quicker  than  you  can 
detect  a  misspelled  word  or  a  grammatical  error. 
He  can  do  it  unerringly,  and  he  will.  If  your 
pupil  brands  you  as  a  fraud,  your  fate  is  sealed. 
You  can  never  teach  him  anything  good.  Do 
not  talk  to  him  about  the  lovableness  of  nature 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   47 

if  you  have  none  of  the  genuine  article  in  your 
own  heart ;  heart,  not  head. 

We  who  would  teach  and  inspire  the  young 
folks,  must  learn  our  own  lesson  before  we  try  to 
instruct  them.  Otherwise  the  child  will  find  our 
teaching  as  interesting  and  impressive  as  Frank 
Stockton's  bookseller  found  the  "  Logarithm  of 
the  Diapason." 

Let  me  quote  again  from  John  Burroughs: 

"  A  great  many  people  admire  nature  ;  they 
write  admiring  things  about  her ;  they  apostro- 
phize her  beauties  ;  they  describe  minutely  pretty 
scenes  here  and  there ;  they  climb  mountains  to 
see  the  sun  set,  or  the  sun  rise,  or  make  long 
journeys  to  find  waterfalls,  but  nature's  real  lover 
listens  to  their  enthusiasm  with  coolness  and  in- 
difference. Nature  is  not  to  be  praised  or  patron- 
ized. You  cannot  go  to  her  and  describe  her ; 
she  must  speak  through  your  heart.  The  woods 
and  fields  must  melt  into  your  mind,  dissolved  by 
your  love  of  them. 

"  The  passion  for  nature  is  by  no  means  a  mere 
curiosity  about  her,  or  an  itching  to  portray  cer- 
tain of  her  features ;  it  lies  deeper  and  is  probably 
a  form  of,  or  closely  related  to,  our  religious 
instincts." 


48   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

And  from  Bradford  Torrey : 

"  I  hope  I  am  not  lacking  in  a  wholesome  dis- 
respect for  sentimentality  and  affectation ;  for 
artificial  ecstasies  over  sunsets  and  landscapes, 
birds,  and  flowers  ;  the  fashionable  cant  of  nature 
worship,  which  is  enough  to  seal  a  true  worship- 
er's lips  under  a  vow  of  everlasting  silence.  But 
such  repugnances  belong  to  the  library  and  the 
parlor,  and  are  left  behind  when  a  man  goes 
abroad,  either  by  himself  or  in  any  other  really 
good  company.  For  my  own  part  the  first  lisp 
of  a  chickadee  out  of  a  wayside  thicket  disperses 
with  a  breath  all  such  unhappy  and  unhallowed 
recollections.  Here  is  a  voice  sincere  and  the 
response  is  instantaneous  and  irresistible." 


CHAPTER  IV 

CORRELATING  NATURE  STUDY 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  know  all  about  correlation ;  we 
have  had  full  instructions,  read  topical  outlines 
and  schedules  in  our  teachers'  journals ;  had  it 
reiterated  to  us  at  the  Institutes ;  seen  it  advo- 
cated in  the  schedules  of  nature  study  for  each 
month,  and,  therefore  we  know  all  about  it.  Of 
course  we  correlate  nature  study.  We  correlate 
it  with  drawing,  language  lessons,  writing,  and 
even  with  arithmetic  and  geography,  so  we  are  all 
right  on  that,  and  we  need  no  further  instruction.'* 

If  you  really  have  correlated  nature  study  in 
all  those  ways,  and  insisted  upon  it  in  all  cases, 
you  have  done  exactly  what  you  should  not  have 
done.  You  have  shaken  water  and  oil  together 
and  made  a  compound,  good  neither  for  lubri- 
cation nor  for  quenching  thirst.  Or,  to  use  an- 
other simile,  you  have  flavored  a  dose  of  castor 
oil  with  wintergreen,  and  made  a  mess.  You 
may  have  helped  the  oil,  but  you  have  made  it 
mighty  bad  for  the  wintergreen  ! 

Have  you  really  been  using  nature  study, 
4  49 


50   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

that  is,  original  investigation  on  the  part  of  the 
child  ?  Have  you  not  simply  used  a  few  natural 
objects  in  the  various  kinds  of  work  that  you 
have  mentioned  ?  If  so,  and,  I  really  hope  it  is 
so,  you  are  after  all  not  guilty  of  spoiling  the 
wintergreen. 

Not  long  ago  I  attended,  in  a  high  school 
assembly-room,  an  exhibition  of  the  work  of  the 
grade  schools  in  the  town.  As  I  entered  the  hall, 
a  supervising  teacher  came  forward  and  said,  "  I 
am  glad  you  came  ;  I  know  you  will  be  interested 
in  everything,  but  I  want  especially  to  show  you 
what  we  have  done  in  nature  study.  I  know  you 
are  interested  in  '  such  things.' " 

Indeed,  I  was  interested  and  proud  too,  of  the 
good  results  attained  by  the  schools,  for  the  ex- 
hibition showed  lines  of  work  that  were  truly 
remarkable. 

"  There,"  said  my  fair  guide,  as  we  approached 
a  particularly  attractive  table,  "  I  know  you'll 
like  this.  Isn't  that  beautiful?  How  well  our 
children  do  it !  Isn't  it  surprising  ?  Don't  you 
think  they've  done  well?  " 

Truly  it  was  a  beautiful  exhibit ;  the  children 
had  done  well.  I  said  so  frankly,  and  expressed 
surprise  that  so  excellent  work  should  have  been 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   5 1 

accomplished  by  children  who  were  so  young,  as 
shown  by  their  ages  marked  on  the  specimens. 

"  Aren't  you  glad  that  our  schools  are  doing  so 
good  nature  work?  "  exclaimed  the  enthusiastic 
teacher. 

"  Nature  work  !     Where  is  it  ?  " 

I  was  not  diplomatic,  I  know,  with  such  an  in- 
terlocutor and  after  so  cordial  a  greeting.  The 
words  slipped  out  without  a  thought. 

"  Here,  here ;  what  are  you  thinking  about  ? 
This  nature  work  ;  isn't  it  beautiful  ?  " 

"Yes,  it  is  beautiful  drawing,  neat  writing, 
correct  capitalization  and  punctuation,"  I  hesita- 
tingly equivocated,  as  I  picked  up  a  prose  para- 
phrase of  Bryant's  "  Fringed  Gentian,"  decorated 
with  "  original  "  drawings.  There  was  at  the  end 
a  little  angel  with  wings,  and  an  anchor  with  a 
chain  gracefully  twined  around  it. 

"  Hope  blossoming  within  my  heart, 
May  look  to  heaven  as  I  depart. ' ' 

Then  came  Emerson's  beautiful  fable  of  "  The 
Mountain  and  the  Squirrel." 

"  The  mountain  and  the  squirrel 
Had  a  quarrel ; 
And  the  former  called  the  latter  "  Little  Prig  ; " 

Bun  replied 
You  are  doubtless  very  big. ' ' 


52   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

I  read  no  further,  but  I  am  sure  the  mountain 
backed  out  of  the  fight,  if  I  may  judge  from  the 
squirrel's  attitude  and  expression.  It  was  artis- 
tic, and  certainly  artistically  realistic  from  the 
child's  standpoint. 

Then  appeared  "  Seaside  and  Wayside  "  stories 
retold  with  drawings,  almost  as  good  as  the  orig- 
inals. 

Perhaps  the  most  attractive  was  the  work  in 
water-color.  A  bouquet  of  roses  painted  by  a 
child  eight  years  of  age  was  indeed  remarkable, 
and  so  I  went  over  the  drawings  of  daisies,  maple 
keys,  wild  geraniums,  dogs,  and  horses.  I  felt  a 
tinge  of  disappointment  when  I  saw  that  the 
flowers  had  been  drawn  in  the  winter  term,  some 
with  the  aid  of  outlines  on  the  sheets,  and  had 
been  colored  ad  libitum,  or  by  the  direction  of 
the  teacher. 

Yet  it  was  all  good  work  in  drawing  and  lan- 
guage, most  of  it  having  been  made  from  outlines 
and  books,  while  only  a  few  samples  had  been 
made  directly  from  nature. 

The  trouble  was  that  I  was  talking  to  the  nature 
supervisor  and  not  to  the  teacher  of  drawing  or  of 
language,  and  my  questioner  was  persistent.     She 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   53 

repeated,  "  Don't  you  think  this  nature  work  is 
good  ?  M 

And  so  I  was  forced  to  say,  as  I  do  to  you,  that 
it  seems  to  me  that  the  mere  drawing  of  natural 
objects  and  writing  about  them,  even  if  from  the 
objects  themselves  is  not  necessarily  nature  study. 
A  talent  for  original  seeing,  a  love  of  natural  objects 
may  be  stunted  by  the  requirements  of  drawing 
and  writing.  The  wintergreen  seemed  to  be  pretty 
nearly  all  castor  oil,  judging  by  the  taste.  You  can 
correlate  nature  study  in  this  manner  till  there  is 
no  nature  study  left. 

Professor  Hodge  in  his  "  Nature  Study  and 
Life  "  (I  like  especially  that  word  life  in  the  title) 
tells  us  regarding  the  experience  of  the  children 
in  rearing  plants : 

"  No  skilled  gardener  can  even  tell,  much  less 
write  down,  a  hundredth  part  of  what  he  knows 
about  plants.  ...  It  was  thought  at  first  that 
the  children  might  be  induced  to  keep  diaries  or 
records  of  their  plants,  giving  just  what  they  did 
and  just  how  fast  the  plants  grew ;  but  it  was 
found  that  their  writings  were  of  little  value,  and 
were  even  thought  to  act  as  a  chill  to  the  spontane- 
ous interests  of  some  of  the  children.  Some  chil- 
dren have  a  passion  to  write,  while  in  others  the  very 


54   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

thought  of  writing  seems  to  benumb  every  impulse" 
The  author's  italics  are  expressive. 

But  if  you  must  correlate  nature  study  and  lan- 
guage exercises — and  there  are  some  teachers  who 
will  persist  in  doing  it — never  lose  sight  of  the 
original-seeing  nature  study. 

Then,  again,  be  sure  that  you  know  which  is 
nature  study,  and  which  is  the  drawing  and  lan- 
guage, and  just  wherein  is  the  correlation. 

Not  long  ago  I  had  occasion  to  examine  several 
hundred  letters  from  children  engaged  in  a  contest 
of  nature-study  writing  and  drawing.  Please  note 
that  it  was  nature-study  writing  and  drawing,  not 
a  contest  on  writing  and  drawing  nature  study. 

Among  the  many  letters  was  a  particularly  at- 
tractive package  of  eighty,  all  from  one  school. 
"  Here  is  the  prize,"  I  thought,  as  I  cut  the  pink 
string  and  opened  the  neat  foldings  of  firm  manila 
and  delicate  tissue  paper  within.  The  letters  were 
written  on  only  one  side  of  the  sheet  and  not  folded 
which  alone  was  enough  to  make  them  attrac- 
tive to  an  editor.  What  beautiful  vertical  writing 
(not  that  I  am  especially  an  advocate  of  that  sys- 
tem) but  beautiful  because  it  was  so  perfectly 
legible.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  read.  And  the 
capitalization     and     punctuation  ?    All    perfect. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   55 

Then,  too,  what  beautiful  drawings.  I  envied  the 
child  whose  letter  I  first  picked  up.  So  neat  and 
pretty.  After  my  hard  work  over  nearly  a  thou- 
sand others,  this  instalment  was  indeed  refreshing. 
But  when  I  had  thus  enjoyed  about  a  half  dozen, 
there  began  to  creep  over  me  a  feeling  that  I  had 
somewhere  previously  read  that  last  one,  and  not 
so  long  ago,  either.  Then  I  studied  them  with 
keener  interest  and  with  growing  amazement. 
How  could  so  many  children  have  ascertained 
certain  facts  with  a  clearness  so  uniform,  and  have 
described  them  in  expressions  so  similar?  It  was 
bewildering.  Eighty  of  them,  and  all  cut  on  the 
same  bias.  But  that  bias  was  really  bright  and 
fresh.     I  could  not  gainsay  that. 

After  I  had  read  about  two  dozen,  my  mind  re- 
called a  visit  to  a  factory  in  Waterbury,  where  I 
saw  a  coil  of  wire  fed  into  a  machine  and  reappear 
as  a  stream  of  glittering  pins  that  were  rolled 
around  in  a  "  hopper,"  and  shot  out  of  a  spout 
neatly  arranged  in  rows  on  paper.  Some  enthu- 
siastic teacher  had  correlated  a  coil  of  a  "  nature- 
study  "  story  into  a  school  machine,  and  the 
hopper  had  evolved  attractive  language-pins  beau- 
tifully arranged  on  eighty  papers,  and  then,  alas 
and  alack !  she  sent  them   to  me.     The   thing   I 


56   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

wanted  was  not  there.  In  sadness  I  laid  them 
aside. 

Next  I  picked  up  an  unattractive  letter  written 
on  the  leaves  of  a  pocket  note-book.  The  drawing 
that  accompanied  it  was  crude  and  the  paper  was 
soiled  by  finger  marks.  With  difficulty  I  read  it, 
but  was  fascinated  as  I  deciphered  the  story  of  a 
boy's  seaside  investigation  of  the  fiddler  crab.  He 
wanted  to  know  how  they  lived  underground ; 
what  they  did  ;  what  food  they  ate ;  what  kind  of 
quarters  they  occupied.  He  made  inquiries  of  the 
fishermen.  No  one  knew.  He  said,  "  I'll  find 
out  if  it  takes  a  week."  He  borrowed  pick,  shovel, 
and  crowbar.  He  went  to  work  and  he  found  out. 
Then  he  wrote  the  story,  as  he  sat  beside  the 
hole  that  he  had  dug  after  several  hours'  hard 
work.  He  made  the  drawing  after  careful  watching 
of  the  living  object.  He  wrote  the  article  on  the 
field  of  battle,  where  the  weapon  was  a  spade, 
the  enemy  a  crab.  I  was  sorry  that  I  had  not  a 
basketful  of  prizes  to  give  that  boy,  because  he 
wrote  his  letter  for  the  love  of  it,  and  not  for  a 
reward,  of  which  he  knew  nothing. 

The  story  of  a  little  girl's  watching  the  sexton 
beetles  burying  a  dead  snake  u  hour  after  hour, 
with  her  little  rocking-chair  and  parasol,  in  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   57 

broiling  hot  sun,"  as  her  mother  expressed  it  in 
a  letter  written  without  the  child's  knowledge, 
showed  nearly  as  much  determination  to  find  out 
things,  and  the  description  was  good  enough  for 
second  prize.  The  drawing  like  a  huge  letter  S  was 
explained  to  be  "the  snake  ;"  two  little  rings  like 
miniature  pennies,  were  explained  to  be  "  the 
beetles."     It  was  charming. 

I  found  some  others  nearly  as  good,  which  lost 
high  rating  by  only  a  slight  deficiency  of  the  right 
spirit  ;  such  letters  were  a  prize  in  themselves, 
but  I  regret  that  in  numbers  they  were  small. 
The  greater  part  showed  too  much  correlation  of 
language-work  and  drawing.  The  nature  study, 
if  indeed  there  had  been  any,  had  been  buried  out 
of  sight.  Yet  many  accompanying  letters  from 
parents  and  teachers  showed  that  the  importance 
of  nature  study  was  appreciated. 

There  is  danger  of  correlating  nature  study  until 
it  is  annihilated. 

There  is  danger  too  of  thinking  that  you  have 
some  nature  study  and  some  drawing  when  you 
really  have  none. 

"  But  do  you  mean  to  say,  that  we  shall  not 
correlate  nature  study  with  language-work  and 
drawing?"  y^S^a^ 

f>>     OF  THE  ^ 

DIVERSITY  ) 


58   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Yes  and  no.  It  all  depends  upon  where  you 
stand  and  what  you  do  and  how  you  do  it.  You 
may  find  natural  objects  useful  in  your  language 
teaching  and  in  your  drawing  lessons,  but  do  not 
let  it  end  there.  Have  some  nature  study  some- 
times uppermost  in  your  mind,  with  or  without 
language  lessons,  according  to  circumstances  and 
the  preferences  of  the  pupils.  "  These  ought  ye  to 
have  done,  and  not  to  leave  the  other  undone." 

All  these  things  are  from  the  negative,  that  is, 
from  the  prohibitive  or  cautioning  point  of  view. 
The  positive  also  exists,  but  with  it  there  is  no 
danger  of  correlating  too  much. 

Incidentally  and  to  such  limited  extent  as  may 
be  found  necessary,  there  is  manual  training. 
Instead  of  having  the  pupils  in  that  department 
wholly  occupied  in  making  patent  boot-jacks, 
wooden  nutmegs,  or  in  engraving  Chinese  hiero- 
glyphics on  blocks,  good  as  all  these  things  may 
be  from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  let  some  of  the 
most  active  and  practical  boys  make  things  to  be 
used  in  nature  study.  There  is  the  doing  before 
the  seeing,  and  spontaneous  activity  and  original 
observation  are  the  prime  essentials  of  true  nature 
study. 

For  plant  life  we  want  the  germinating  case,  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   59 

boxes  for  indoor  and  outdoor  gardens,  the  minia- 
ture hot-house  with  roof  of  window-frame  and 
shingles  of  glass,  the  fernery,  and  plant  presses. 

For  insects,  there  are  the  net,  the  breeding- 
cages  in  great  variety  of  designs,  the  tanks  for 
aquatic  insects,  amphibia,  and  fish.  There  are 
the  vivaria  for  the  turtles  or  snakes.  And  speak- 
ing of  snakes  reminds  me  that  the  same  vivaria 
covered  with  wire  netting  may  have  the  bottom 
turfed  over  and  used  as  a  cage,  in  which  to 
watch  grasshoppers  shed  their  coats  from  time 
to  time. 

As  we  go  higher  in  animal  life,  there  is  even 
greater  scope  for  the  manual  training  correlation, 
and  that  is  in  the  development  of  the  artistic 
talent.  What  scope  is  here  given  for  the  design- 
ing and  building  of  bird-houses !  What  a  variety 
of  grades  and  styles  of  workmanship  are  possible ! 
For  our  four-footed  animals  we  need  a  cage,  one 
box-like  section  lined  with  sheet-tin,  the  other  an 
open  framework  on  which  wire  netting  is  neatly 
tacked.     Let  the  boys  make  these. 

Would  you  develop  originality  ?  Then  increase 
ingenuity,  quicken  powers  of  observation,  correlate 
manual  training  with  nature-study  interests  and 
see  how  the  whole  child-life  wakes  up.     You  wake 


60   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

him  up  to  one  thing  and  he  is  awake  to  all.  "  I 
take  a  deeper  interest  in  my  geometry  and  Latin 
since  I  became  interested  in  nature  study.  I'm 
going  to  be  somebody,"  is  an  extract  from  a  letter 
from  a  high-school  boy.  And  then  he  goes  on  to 
tell  of  his  "  air  castles,"  about  being  a  scientist 
and  making  some  great  discovery.  That  boy 
woke  up.  He  came  to  himself,  and  the  life 
developed  by  nature  study  will  be  useful  and 
efficient  in  any  occupation. 

Nature  study  is  a  valuable  correlation  in  teach- 
ing true  democracy,  the  American  idea.  There 
is  no  aristocracy  or  oligarchy  in  nature.  Even 
the  queen  of  the  communal  Hymenoptera  is  not 
an  aristocrat,  but  the  most  prodigious  worker  of 
them  all.  She  is  even  "  elected  "  from  among  the 
plebeian  worker-eggs,  and  held  to  her  position  by 
the  most  perfect  democracy  in  the  world,  an 
absolutely  universal  approbation. 

The  naturalist  who  sees  things  in  their  true 
relation  sees  no  high  nor  low,  but  universal 
co-operation  and  mutual  interdependence.  The 
scarlet  tanager  is  attractive,  but  it  is  easy  to  show 
the  young  folks  that  the  earthworm  has  a  mission 
quite  as  important.  Nature  study  impresses  one 
with  respect  for  high  and  low,  large  and  small, 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   6l 

and  binds  all  together  in  universal  sympathy  and 
brotherhood. 

"  He  prayeth  best  who  loveth  best 
All  things  both  great  and  small ; 
For  the  dear  God  who  loveth  us, 
He  made  and  loveth  all." 

Nature  study  impresses  one  with  the  import- 
ance of  the  so-called  lowly  things.  The  balance 
may  at  many  a  point  be  easily  upset.  In  the 
natural  world  as  well  as  in  the  spiritual  this  is 
true.  "  For  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things 
of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise  ;  and  God  hath 
chosen  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound 
the  things  that  are  mighty ;  and  base  things  of 
the  world,  and  things  which  are  despised,  hath 
God  chosen,  to  bring  to  naught  things  which 
are." 

How  often  is  this  exemplified  in  the  study  of 
nature.  A  world  all  lilies,  butterflies,  goldfinches, 
peacocks,  generals,  lawyers,  or  policemen  would 
not  be  a  well  balanced  world.  You  must  have  corn 
and  potatoes  and  chickens,  and  men  with  the 
hoe.  Such  truths  of  the  balance  of  nature  and  of 
civic  life  should  be  correlated  with  nature  study. 
There  is  a  mighty  lot  of  such  truth  expressed  in 
this  statement  by  Richard  Jeffries : 


62       HOW  NATURE  STUDY   SHOULD   B  TEAUGHT 

"  Could  imperial  Rome  have  only  grown  suffi- 
cient wheat  in  Italy  to  have  fed  her  legions, 
Caesar  would  still  be  master  of  three-fourths  of  the 
earth.  Rome  thought  more  in  her  latter  days  of 
grapes  and  oysters  and  mullets  that  change  color 
as  they  die,  and  singing  girls  and  flute-playing, 
and  cynic  verse  of  Horace — anything  rather  than 
corn.  Rome  is  no  more,  and  the  lords  of  the 
world  are  they  who  have  mastership  of  wheat.'* 

In  an  interesting  account  of  searchings  for  the 
wild  mouse,  Dr.  C.  C.  Abbott  interpolates  this 
statement  : 

"  The  whole  world  is  thick  with  fools  who  have 
lost  all  because  of  their  insane  desire  to  better 
their  conditions.  Early  in  life  we  reach  our  pro- 
per level,  and  he  is  blessed  who  has  no  ambition 
to  soar  above  it." 

Then  he  goes  on  to  tell  us  about  his  mouse. 
At  first  reading  this  seems  incongruous.  It  is 
merely  nature  study  illumined  by  a  flashlight  of 
true  democracy. 

Correlate  nature  study  in  large  quantity  and 
persistently  with  patriotism,  that  important  part 
of  a  child's  education  which  is  somehow  erro- 
neously supposed  to  have  its  root  in  fighting  and 
in  political  intrigues.     It  is  not  civil  history  but 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   63 

natural history  that  should  primarily  be  correlated 
with  patriotism. 

What  is  patriotism  ?  Love  of  country,  is  it 
not  ?  the  country  including  the  little  congestions 
which  we  call  villages  and  cities,  the  country  it- 
self, not  mere  pride  in  victories  of  warfare,  ability 
to  fight,  nor  in  political  intrigues  past  or  present, 
but 

"  I  love  thy  rocks  and  rills, 

Thy  woods  and  templed  hills  ; 
My  heart  with  rapture  thrills 
Like  that  above. 

"  Let  music  swell  the  breeze 
And  ring  from  all  the  trees. 

From  every  mountain  side 
Let  freedom  ring." 

That  is  patriotism  ;  that  is  love  of  country,  our 
beautiful  lovable  country.  Is  not  a  great  deal  of 
what  we  call  patriotism  missing  the  main  thing, 
mere  machinery  of  patriotism  ?  Is  not  much  of 
our  so-called  patriotic  teaching  the  mere  mechan- 
ics of  warfare  and  politics — so  much  so  that  the 
real  love  of  our  country  is  lost  sight  of  ?  Let  us 
talk  less  about  our  savage  fighting  and  "  the  men 
behind  the  guns,"  and  more  of  the  real  thing  that 
we  have  been  seeking  to  establish — love  of  our 
beautiful  country.     So  correlate  nature  study  with 


64   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

patriotism  and  let  patriotism  grow  out  of  our  love 
of  nature  study.  For  nature  study,  rightly  under- 
stood, is  not  a  matter  of  bugs  and  snakes,  but  of 
the  highest  and  best  patriotism.  It  is  a  matter 
of  the  trees,  the  roads,  the  sunsets,  the  clouds,  the 
old  homestead,  the  city  home  and  its  surround- 
ings, although  in  the  city  there  may  not  be  much 
that  is  attractive  except  the  blue  sky  and  the 
stars.  And  here  comes  in  the  fighting  part  but 
only  secondarily.  The  naturalist — using  the  term 
in  its  broadest  sense — is  your  true  patriot.  The 
naturalist  so  loves  the  hills,  the  valleys,  the  fields 
that  he  would  lay  down  his  life  for  them,  and  his 
brothers  and  sisters  of  dear  Mother  Nature. 

The  native  land  and  God.  That  sums  it  all. 
Love  of  native  land — nature  study — brings  our 
thoughts  and  our  life  to  a  higher  plane. 

And  right  here  is  another  important  part  of  a 
child's  education,  his  moral  training,  to  be  thor- 
oughly correlated  with  and  produced  by  nature 
study. 

"  The  sunset  is  unlike  anything  underneath  it ; 
it  wants  men."  You  can  never  improve  that  child 
by  preaching  words  alone.  Influence  by  example 
and  association.  The  story  of  the  naughty  boy 
that  came  to  some  bad  end,  and  of  the  goody- 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   65 

goody  boy  that  became  a  millionaire  and  played 
golf  and  drove  an  automobile  is  not  effective  be- 
cause it  is  not  true  to  life,  and  the  child  soon  de- 
tects the  sham.  But  the  flower  is  ever  beautiful, 
the  bird  is  ever  joyous,  and  nature  is  always  true. 
More  than  stories  with  a  moral  do  I  value  nature 
for  morality. 

"  Nor  hev  a  feelin'  if  it  doesn't  smack, 
O'  wut  some  critter  chose  to  feel  'way  back  ; 
(Why,  I'd  give  more  for  one  live  bobolink 
Than  a  square  mile  o'  larks  in  printer's  ink.)" 

Would  you  have  the  child  pure  ?  Let  him  as- 
sociate with  purity.     Says  Thoreau  : 

"  Exquisitely  beautiful  and  unlike  anything  we 
have  is  the  first  water-lily  just  expanded  in  some 
shallow  lagoon  where  the  water  is  leaving  it,  per- 
fectly fresh  and  pure  before  the  insects  have  dis- 
covered it.  How  admirable  is  its  purity.  ...  It 
is  the  emblem  of  purity  and  its  scent  suggests  it." 

Would  you  have  the  child  beautiful — real  beauty 
permeating  every  fiber  ?     Says  Burroughs  : 

"  Nature  does  nothing  merely  for  beauty ; 
beauty  follows  as  the  inevitable  result.  .  .  .  In- 
deed, when  I  go  to  the  woods  or  fields,  or  ascend 
to  the  hilltop,  I  do  not  seem  to  be  gazing  upon 
beauty  at  all,  but  to  be  breathing  it  like  air.  .  .  . 
5 


66   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

It  rises  from  every  tangle  and  chasm.  ...  I  am 
not  a  spectator  of,  but  a  participator  in  it." 

Would  you  have  the  child  joyous?  Says  the 
Rev.  Dallas  Lore  Sharp  : 

"  The  joy  in  wild  things  is  the  joy  of  being  wild 
with  them — vacation  joy." 

And  so  we  can  go  to  nature  for  all  excellencies, 
and  she  is  constantly  trying  to  win  us.  Or,  as 
Walter  Savage  Landor  has  expressed  it : 

"  We  are  what  suns  and  winds  and  waters  make  us  ; 
The  mountains  are  our  sponsors,  and  the  rills 
Fashion  and  win  their  nurslings  with  their  smiles." 

Correlate  the  child's  moral  training  with  the 
truth,  beauty,  and  loveliness  of  nature.  With 
nature  study  may  be  correlated  the  minor  matters 
which  you  are  so  accustomed  to  associate  with  it. 
With  your  nature  study  must  be  correlated  these 
higher  matters  if  you  would  rightly  teach.  What 
a  suggestion  has  Walt  Whitman  given  us  for  cor- 
relation : 

"  There  was  a  child  went  forth  every  day, 

And  the  first  object  he  looked  upon,  that  object  he  be- 
came ; 

And  that  object  became  part  of  him  for  the  day,  or  a  cer- 
tain part  of  the  day,  or  for  many  years,  or  stretching 
cycles  of  years. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  6? 

The  early  lilacs  became  part  of  this  child, 

And  grass,  and  white  and  red  morning-glories,  and  white 

and  red  clover,  and  the  song  of  the  phoebe-bird. 
And  the  fish  suspending  themselves  so  curiously  below 

there,  and  the  beautiful  curious  liquid, 
And  the  water-plants  with  their  graceful  flat  heads — all 

became  part  of  him." 

But  your  nature  study  must  be  correlated  with 
something  even  higher  than  all  this.  It  must 
reach  the  highest  spiritual  faculties,  reaching  out, 
aye,  taking  hold  of  the  Great  Infinity.  Your  na- 
ture study  must  be  correlated  with  a  religious 
life.  If  you  are  doing  that,  you  are  doing  the  best 
correlating.  You  are  realizing  what  nature  study 
means !     You  are  agreeing  with  Emerson  : 

"  Every  earnest  glance  we  give  to  the  realities 
around  us,  with  intent  to  learn,  proceeds  from  a 
holy  impulse,  and  is  really  a  song  of  praise.  What 
difference  can  it  make  whether  it  take  the  shape 
of  exhortation,  or  of  passionate  exclamation,  or 
of  scientific  statement  ?  These  are  forms  merely. 
Through  them  we  express,  at  last,  the  fact  that 
God  has  done  thus  or  thus." 


"  To  lead  a  little  child  into  this  beautiful  world  and  open 
his  eyes  to  the  marvels  which  await  him,  is  a  most  pre- 
cious privilege.  He  could  stumble  along  without  leader- 
ship, and  he  would  see  many  things.  But  how  much  a 
guide  is  worth  !  Parents  may  well  put  themselves  to  great 
pains  for  the  sake  of  introducing  their  children  to  Nature. 
No  effort  will  bring  any  greater  reward.  They  may  open 
these  young  eyes  to  the  color  of  the  birds,  to  the  varieties 
of  the  trees,  to  the  delicate  beauty  of  the  commonest  way* 
side  flower,  to  the  intricate  traceries  of  a  butterfly's  wing, 
or  the  grace  of  a  clinging  vine,  to  the  glory  of  the  sunset 
and  the  grandeur  of  the  lightning.  Children  may  be  taught 
to  distinguish  bird  notes  and  name  the  common  birds. 
Their  eyes  may  be  trained  to  the  harmonies  of  color  and 
the  marvellous  detail  in  the  frost  and  the  snowflake.  No 
child  will  be  cruel  to  birds  or  insects  or  animals  of  any 
sort,  if  he  is  properly  introduced  to  them  and  learns  their 
true  place  in  God's  marvellous  universe.  A  sensitiveness 
to  the  beauty  of  the  world  and  the  infinite  love  manifested 
in  its  wonderful  resources,  means  much  to  develop  the 
mature  character.  This  is  wanting  in  many  a  man  and 
woman  because  there  was  no  one  to  guide  their  early 
years." — Rev.  Edward  Herrick  Chandler. 

68 


CHAPTER  V 

"  KEEPING  THEM  DOWN  " 

"  Well,  I  suppose  that  is  all  right,  but  please 
tell  me  how  I  am  going  to  get  them  down  again  ?  " 
she  said  in  a  low  tone  to  the  superintendent,  as  I 
went  out  of  the  room.  The  words  were  not  in- 
tended for  my  ears,  but  I  caught  them,  and  they 
touched  me,  every  bit  of  me. 

She  was  a  teacher  who  thoroughly  believed  in 
discipline.  Every  action  in  the  school  favored  of 
militarism.  She  was  famous  throughout  the  town 
for  her  good  government.  When  the  superinten- 
dent and  I  entered  the  room  she  came  forward 
very  primly,  and  I  thought  grimly,  but  perhaps 
that  was  imagination,  the  result  of  the  superin- 
tendent's casual  remark,  "  You  will  have  to  be  a 
little  careful  with  this  teacher.  She  is  great  on 
discipline  and  routine,  and  says  that  she  doesn't 
believe  in  modern  fads."  The  good  old  methods 
of  the  days  when  Webster's  blue-covered  spellin' 
book  was  paramount,  were  good  enough  for  her. 

After  acknowledging  the  introduction,  she 
turned  and  said  : 

69 


JO      HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

"  Now,  children,  this  is  Mr.  Bigelow.  He  knows 
everything  about  the  trees,  and  flowers,  and  birds, 
and  bugs,  and  such  things,  and  he  has  come  here 
to  tell  you  all  about  them.  [A  large  contract,  I 
thought.]  Lay  aside  your  books  and  papers; 
now  sit  up  and  fold  your  arms  and  pay  strict  at- 
tention. You  must  be  very  still.  He  is  going  to 
talk  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  he  will  tell 
us  a  great  many  interesting  things,  I  am  sure." 

After  a  minute  or  two  made  noisy  by  the  put- 
ting of  books  into  desks,  one  could  almost  pain- 
fully hear  the  tick-tock  of  the  clock.  The  teacher 
turned  to  me,  and,  as  she  nodded  her  head,  said : 

"  Now,  Mr.  Bigelow." 

Then  she  went  to  the  opposite  corner  and  stood 
there,  with  eagle  eye  wide  expanded  to  detect 
the  earliest  sign  of  disorder.  In  the  meantime 
she  had  sent  an  assistant  to  the  rear  of  the  room. 
I  paused  for  a  moment  to  enjoy  the  air  of  ex- 
pectancy and  the  almost  breathless  stillness  I 
noted  the  glistening  eyes  of  a  few,  and  the  soldier- 
like indifference  of  most  of  the  pupils.  Three  or 
four  big  boys  in  the  rear  seats  had  especially 
attracted  my  attention,  by  the  look,  half  of  dis- 
gust, half  of  protest,  with  which  they  had  swung 
books  out  of  sight,  and  stuffed  their  hands  into 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   7 1 

their  pockets.  I  had  seen  that  look  before  !  I 
knew  how  to  translate  it  into,  "  Oh,  this  is  going 
to  be  a  goody-goody  talk  to  tell  us  how  we  ought 
to  enjoy  this  beautiful  world  and  be  very  grateful 
to  the  One  that  has  given  it  all  to  us."  With  an 
air  of  resignation  they  leaned  back,  and  I  remem- 
bered the  factory  that  we  had  just  passed,  and 
what  the  superintendent  had  told  me  of  the  dull 
work,  the  long  hours  and  the  low  pay  of  the 
operatives. 

Then  I  said  : 

"  I  am  trying  to  find  out  how  young  folks  feed 
their  pet  animals.  Will  some  one  please  tell  me 
what  he  thinks  is  the  best  for  his  special  p_et§? 
A  friend  of  animals  has  written  to  me  that  bread 
and  milk  should  not  be  fed  to  any  pet  animal, 
and  I  am  trying  to  learn  about  the  experience  of 
others.  Will  some  one  please  speak  and  tell 
me?" 

Simple  as  this  inquiry  was,  it  had  the  effect  of 
a  bomb-shell.  The  mental  attitude  was  completely 
upset  and  I  had  to  wait  a  minute  for  it  to  settle. 
Here  was  every  one,  other  than  myself,  expecting 
a  sermon  on  the  wonders  and  beauties  of  nature 
about  which  the  young  folks  had  from  earliest 
childhood  been  told  and  told  again.     And  I  felt 


72   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

almost  culpable  as  I  thus  jerked  their  minds  "  the 
other  end  to."  They  to  give  information  and  I 
to  be  the  learner !  Impossible!  It  took  a  minute 
for  the  idea  to  penetrate,  for  the  hands  to  come 
out  of  the  pockets  and  the  legs  to  be  drawn  up, 
while  looks  of  astonishment  passed  from  one  to 
another.  Faces  brightened,  eyes  began  to  sparkle, 
a  hand  here  and  there  came  up  hesitatingly.  I 
had  touched  the  known  in  a  place  dear  to  the 
hearts  of  those  young  people.  The  matter  of 
food  was  soon  explained.  Then  what  stories  of 
dogs,  cats,  parrots,  canaries,  hens,  rabbits,  and 
even  of  a  pet  crow.  The  story  of  this  crow's 
capture  led  to  an  experience,  related  by  one  of 
the  big  boys  about  his  dog  and  a  woodchuck 
killed  in  the  stone  wall,  and  how  the  little  wood- 
chucks  were  brought  home.  I  was  delighted  ; 
the  superintendent's  countenance  beamed  with 
pleasure,  I  saw  that  he  was  convinced,  and  later 
I  was  not  surprised  to  have  him  write  to  me, 
"  We  have  room  for  the  kind  of  nature  study 
which  you  exemplified."  But  the  teachers  were 
alarmed,  almost  excited.  The  eagerness  of  some 
of  the  children  to  tell  experiences  actually  pushed 
them  out  of  the  seat  and  several  steps  forward, 
with  outstretched  hand.     Oh,  the  joy  of  telling ! 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   73 

the  joy  of  being  appreciated,  of  being  recognized 
as  actually  knowing  something  worth  listening 
to !  Every  mind  woke  up,  because  each  was 
appealed  to  individually,  and  every  one  was 
eager  to  respond.  The  assistant  expressed  vol- 
umes when  she  whispered  to  me,  as  I  shook  her 
hand  in  parting,  that  she  "  Didn't  think  those 
children  knew  so  much." 

But  the  principal  apologetically  said,  "  I  never 
saw  them  act  so  badly.  I'm  afraid  you'll  think 
we  don't  have  any  order.  I  was  ashamed  to  have 
two  or  three  talking  at  once." 

To  her  I  said,  that  they  had  been  only  a  little 
over-eager  in  telling  me  their  experiences.  But 
to  you  I  say  that  I  commend  the  young  folks.  I 
regretted  that  there  was  only  one  opportunity  of 
telling;  that  there  must  be  a  condensation  of 
what  should  have  been  extended. 

The  principal  then  made  the  remark  to  the 
superintendent,  as  quoted  at  the  beginning  of  the 
chapter. 

Discipline,  and  instruction  are  for  your  school, 
as  a  whole.  Nature  study  is  for  the  pupil — this 
one,  that  one — a  recognition  and  development 
of  individuality.  Restrain  and  develop.  Not 
one,  but  both.     Not  everlastingly  keeping  them 


74   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

down,  but  sometimes  letting,  helping,  encourag- 
ing, to  spring  up.  That  is  why  I  appeal  to  you 
for  informal  nature  study,  for  the  very  young 
folks,  not  instruction  in  science,  however  elemen- 
tary, or  however  dilute  and  interesting  you  may 
be  able  to  make  it.  Think  and  act  sometimes 
from  the  child's  standpoint.  That  in  relation  to 
natural  objects  is  nature  study. 


CHAPTER  VI 

WHY  NO  SCHEDULES  FOR  NATURE  STUDY 

What  is  nature  study  ?  It  is  a  point  of  view.  It  is  the  ac- 
quirement of  sympathy  with  nature,  which  means  sympathy 
with  what  is. 

As  a  pedagogical  ideal,  nature  study  is  teaching  the  youth 
to  see  and  to  know  the  thing  nearest  at  hand,  to  the  end 
that  his  life  may  be  fuller  and  richer.  Primarily,  nature 
study,  as  the  writer  conceives  it,  is  not  knowledge.  He 
would  avoid  the  leaflet  that  gives  nothing  but  information. 
Nature  study  is  not  method.  Of  necessity  each  teacher  will 
develop  a  method  ;  but  this  method  is  the  need  of  the 
teacher,  not  of  the  subject. 

Nature  study  is  not  to  be  taught  for  the  purpose  of  mak- 
ing the  youth  a  specialist  or  a  scientist.  Now  and  then  a 
pupil  will  desire  to  pursue  a  science  for  the  sake  of  the 
science,  and  he  should  be  encouraged.  But  every  pupil  may 
be  taught  to  be  interested  in  plants  and  birds  and  insects  and 
running  brooks,  and  thereby  his  life  will  be  the  stronger. 
The  crop  of  scientists  will  take  care  of  itself. — Professor  L. 
H.  Bailey,  Professor  of  Horticulture  at  Cornell  university. 

Books  of  natural  history  aim  commonly  to  be  hasty  sched- 
ules, or  inventories  of  God's  property,  by  some  clerk.  They 
do  not  in  the  least  teach  the  divine  view  of  nature,  but  the 
popular  view,  or  rather  the  popular  method  of  studying 
nature,  and  make  haste  to  conduct  the  persevering  pupil 
only  into  that  dilemma  where  the  professors  always  dwell. — 
Henry  D.  ThorEau,  the  sage  of  Walden. 

Professor  Bailey  is  a  prominent  scientist  of  the 
present  day,  whose  writings  are  chiefly  scientific. 

75 


j6      HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

He  occasionally  views  nature  informally,  as  in 
his  famous  article  on  nature  study  from  which  the 
foregoing  is  quoted. 

Henry  D.  Thoreau  was  the  first  and  is  generally 
accredited  to  be  the  greatest  of  American  natural- 
ists. He  occasionally  looks  at  nature  from  the 
scientific  point  of  view,  as  is  evinced  by  his 
assistance  to  Agassiz.  Thoreau  is  a  naturalist ; 
Professor  Bailey  a  scientist.  These  are  two  dif- 
ferent points  of  view,  although  there  is  no  opposi- 
tion nor  hard  and  fast  lines.  The  most  successful 
scientist  must  have  much  of  the  naturalist  ("  Na- 
ture Study")  in  him,  and  the  naturalist's  love 
leads  him  to  more  and  more  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge. It  is  not  a  question  as  to  whether  one  has 
a  naturalist's  love,  and  his  ability  to  see  things,  or 
whether  he  has  a  scientist's  knowledge.  Each 
man  must  have  both  qualities.  The  question  is, 
of  which  quality  has  he  the  most?  and  the 
answer  decides  whether  he  is  a  scientist  or  a 
naturalist.  I  take  these  two  men  as  typical  of  the 
two  classes,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  each 
has  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  other.  Both  Bailey 
and  Thoreau  have  recognized  that  there  is  a  dif- 
ference between  nature  study  and  science.  Here 
is  Bailey's  way  of  making  the  distinction : 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   ?? 

Nature  study  is  not  the  study  of  a  science,  as  of  botany, 
entomology,  geology,  and  the  like.  That  is,  it  takes  the 
things  at  hand  and  endeavors  to  understand  them,  without 
reference  to  the  systematic  order  or  relationships  of  the  ob- 
jects. It  is  wholly  informal  and  unsystematic,  the  same  as 
the  objects  are  which  one  sees.  It  is  entirely  divorced  from 
definitions,  or  from  explanations  in  books.  It  is  therefore 
supremely  natural.  It  simply  trains  the  eye  and  the  mind 
to  see  and  to  comprehend  the  things  of  life  ;  and  the  result 
is  not  directly  the  acquirement  of  science,  but  the  establish- 
ing of  a  living  sympathy  with  everything  that  is. 

Thoreau  in  "  Spring  "  draws  the  distinction  in 
his  characteristic  style  as  follows  : — 

As  it  is  important  to  consider  nature  from  the  point  of 
view  of  science,  remembering  the  nomenclature  and  systems 
of  men,  and  so,  if  possible,  go  a  step  further  in  that  direc- 
tion, so  it  is  equally  important  often  to  ignore  or  forget  all 
that  men  presume  that  they  know,  and  take  an  original  and 
unprejudiced  view  of  Nature,  letting  her  make  what  impres- 
sion she  will  on  you,  as  the  first  men,  and  all  children,  and 
natural  men  do.  For  our  science,  so  called,  is  always  more 
barren  and  mixed  with  error  than  our  sympathies  are. 

It  has  been  seen  in  the  two  introductory  par- 
agraphs of  this  chapter,  that  both  denounce 
schedules  or  definite  method.  "Why  is  this?" 
asks  many  a  teacher.  "  Isn't  it  a  good  thing  to 
have  your  work  assigned  in  advance  ?  "  Yes,  but 
nature  study  is  not  your  work.  It  is  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  loves  and  interests  of  the  childy 
not  from  that  of  your  knowledge.     You  will  make 


78   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

schedules  of  assignments  in  advance,  when  you 
can  predict  in  advance  what  each  child  will  find  of 
interest  or  will  desire  to  tell  you.  Bailey  and 
Thoreau  denounced  schedules  in  nature  study  be- 
cause they  recognized  this  distinction.  And  the 
trouble  with  you  who  clamor  for  machine-made 
schedules,  is  that  you  fail  to  recognize  the  two 
points  of  view.  If  you  did  not,  you  would  not 
ask  for  schedules. 

Schedules  are  useful  in  science,  even  the  most 
elementary.  It  is  right  that  you  assign  the  con- 
sideration of  the  stem  the  day  after  that  of  the 
root,  or  vice  versa,  if  you  so  please.  You  may 
assign  newts  after  the  fishes  in  zoological  work. 
You  are  instructing  in  that ;  that  is  in  struere, 
building  in,  to  the  child's  mind,  but  in  nature 
study  you  have  the  true  education,  e  ducere,  lead- 
ing forth  the  child's  ideas. 

The  pernicious  custom  of  ignoring  the  child's 
individuality  in  assigning  the  same  thing  to  all, 
and  of  having  a  definite  assignment  for  each  day, 
without  regard  to  the  excellent  and  unusual  avail- 
able things  that  may  come  to  hand,  reminds  me 
of  a  farce,  entitled  "  The  Railroad  Restaurant," 
that  I  once  saw  acted  by  the  young  men  of  a 
literary   society.     I   do   not  mean  to  assert  that 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   79 

nature  study  in  definite  assignment  for  each  day, 
and  uniform  to  each  pupil,  is  a  farce.  By  no 
means,  for  the  farce  pleases,  even  if  there  is 
no  definite  instruction.  On  the  other  hand  a 
scheduled  assignment  may  do  positive  harm  by 
stunting  growth  of  interest. 

The  "  Railroad  Restaurant  "  farce  was  extremely 
simple  and  ridiculously  funny.  The  waiter  pounded 
the  gong,  the  passengers  rushed  in  and  took  seats 
at  the  bare  tables.  The  waiter  threw  the  gong 
into  the  corner,  and  hurried  from  one  to  another 
of  the  would-be  diners,  hastily  inquiring,  "  What 
will  you  have  ? M  but  ignored  all  the  answers. 
From  an  armful  of  huge  soup  plates  he  slammed 
one  on  each  table.  Then  he  rushed  to  the  pantry, 
tugged  forth  a  pail  of  soup  and  set  it  in  the 
middle  of  the  room. 

Filling  a  Brobdignagian  squirt-gun  with  the 
entire  contents  of  the  pail  at  one  tremendous  pull 
of  the  plunger,  he  rushed  from  diner  to  diner, 
shouting  as  he  filled  the  plates  to  overflowing, 
"  You've  only  five  minutes  before  the  train  goes, 
and  we've  only  soup  ready  to-day  ;  you'll  have  to 
make  out  on  soup."  Hastily  returning  the  squirt 
gun  to  its  place,  he  sounded  the  gong ;  the 
locomotive   bell    rang ;    the   conductor    shouted 


SO      HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

through  the  half  opened  door,  "  All  aboard  !  "  and 
there  was  a  rush  for  the  train. 

Perhaps  the  audience  saw  only  a  burlesque  on 
the  methods  in  vogue  at  railroad  restaurants,  but 
into  the  mind  of  at  least  one  who  was  present 
there  floated  a  remembrance  of  a  certain  school- 
room. Flushed  and  eager  from  outdoor  exercise 
and  interests,  a  crowd  of  happy  children  walked 
briskly  into  the  room  and  took  their  seats. 

"  What  have  you,  there,  John,  that  is  attract- 
ing so  much  attention  ?  "  sharply  inquired  the 
teacher. 

"  A  little  spotted  turtle  ;  we  found  it  down  by 
the  spring  and " 

"  Carry  it  right  outdoors  and  leave  it  there. 
You  ought  to  know  better  than  to  bring  such  a 
thing  into  the  schoolroom — of  all M 

"  But  please,  ma'am,  I  thought  you  might  want 
it  in  nature  study,"  replied  the  boy,  as  a  few  in 
his  immediate  vicinity  pressed  forward  to  see  it, 
and  in  various  parts  of  the  room  a  dozen  or  more 
hands  came  up  from  excited  children,  who  had 
evidently  participated  in  the  capture  of  the 
turtle,  or  who  wanted  to  see  it.  "  No,  we  don't 
want  it  to-day.  Don't  you  know  that  we  com- 
mence the  study  of  the  local  amphibia  on  the  15th 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   8 1 

of  April  ?  To-day  our  schedule  says  we  are  to 
have  buds.  I  have  an  armful  of  specimens  here 
on  my  desk,  as  you  can  all  see.  I  was  out  hunt- 
ing for  them  before  some  of  you  children  were 
out  of  bed." 

John,  rather  crestfallen,  in  a  mystifying  guilt 
as  to  his  "  amphibia  "  stumped  along  in  the  manner 
that  only  a  boy  of  repulsed  interests  can  do,  and 
carried  the  turtle  out  of  doors.  The  other  chil- 
dren wilted  in  their  eagerness,  and  slumped  into 
their  seats.  The  hand-bell  rang  snappishly,  the 
children  stiffened,  with  rigidly  folded  arms,  and 
perfect  order  reigned  in  that  schoolroom.  No  a 
la  carte  in  that  mind  restaurant,  but  a  public  in- 
stitution of  diet  changed  only  after  long  routine 
and  per  schedule. 

And  yet  as  I  day-dreamed  there,  I  thought  what 
an  ideal  teacher  she  is.  What  a  good  discipli- 
narian, how  perfect  in  her  manner,  how  conscien- 
tious and  thorough,  in  everything  that  she  does. 
Her  principal  has  required  "  Fifteen  minutes  a  day 
for  nature  study,  preferably  after  the  opening  ex- 
ercises." (Get  it  off  your  hands  as  early  in  the 
day  as  possible,  so  that  you  will  be  ready  to  do 
something — this  was  not  in  the  schedule,  but  I 

felt  it ;  perhaps  I  was  wrong,  perhaps  not.)     The 
6 


82   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

teacher  congratulated  herself  because  she  could 
not  do  a  thing  half  way.  She  must  have  a  time 
for  everything  and  everything  for  a  time.  She 
had  therefore  met  a  few  other  teachers  in  the 
building,  and  they  had  prepared  this  schedule, 
which  had  met  with  the  heartiest  approval  of  the 
principal. 

"  That  teacher  is  so  thorough,*'  said  he  with  em- 
phasis and  with  pride,  as  he  exhibited  the  schedule, 
"  she  does  everything  thoroughly." 

Do  you  not  know  that  you  have  systematized 
and  scheduled  in  elementary  or  dilute  science  and 
out  every  particle  of  nature  study  ?  I  saw  the  boy 
carry  it  out  in  his  heart,  face,  and  hand. 

Again  I  visited  that  school.  I  knew  Sam.  He 
lived  not  far  from  my  home,  and  we  had  had  many 
an  enjoyable  walk  together  in  the  great  outdoor 
world.  He  had  a  general  interest  in  all  natural 
objects,  but  he  dreamed  of  pet  mice.  That  boy 
was  an  enthusiast,  and  consequently  an  authority 
on  pet  mice.  I  heard  the  teacher  read  a  part  of 
the  interesting  chapter,  "  Wild  Mice,"  in  Ernest 
Ingersoll's  book  on  "  Wild  Life  of  Orchard  and 
Field."  Sam  and  the  other  children  listened 
attentively  as  the  teacher  read  : 

These  jumping  mice  are  the  prettiest  of  all  the  Eastern 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   83 

wild  species.  If  you  should  look  at  a  kangaroo  through  the 
wrong  end  of  a  telescope  you  would  have  a  very  fair  idea  of 
our  little  friend's  form,  with  hind  legs  and  feet  very  long  and 
slender,  and  forelegs  very  short ;  so  that  when  he  sits  up 
they  seem  like  little  paws  held  before  him  in  a  coquettish 
way.  His  tail  is  often  twice  the  length  of  his  body,  and  is 
tipped  with  a  brush  of  long  hairs.  He  has  a  knowing  look 
in  his  face,  with  its  upright  furry  ears  and  bright  eyes. 

Then  the  teacher  took  down  her  new  copy 
of  Witmer  &  Stone's  "  American  Animals,"  and 
let  the  children  enjoy  those  two  plates  of  photo- 
graphs of  the  skins  of  various  mice  and  shrews. 

I  watched  Sam.  And  Sam  looked  at  me  occa- 
sionally in  an  eager  way.  He  reminded  me  of 
my  old  dog  Daisy,  when  I  held  her  trembling  in 
eagerness,  with  the  woodchuck  only  two  feet  from 
her  nose,  and  plainly  visible  under  the  boulder  at 
the  bottom  of  the  dilapidated  wall. 

The  teacher  read  on,  about  the  meadow  mice 
that  "  are  the  homeliest  of  their  tribe,"  and  about 
the  deer  mice  and  the  white-footed.  And  again 
the  photographs  of  the  skins  were  passed  around. 

Sam,  I  thought,  I  know  that  you  would  like  to 
get  right  into  this,  right  up  here  with  the  mouse 
that  you  caught  in  the  meadow  day  before  yester- 
day, and  bring  in  that  wood  mouse,  and  a  few  of 
those  "  fancy "  pet  mice,  the  waltzing  ones  in 
particular,  and  tell  us  more  than  the  books  and  we 


84   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

have  ever  known,  perhaps  not  about  mice,  but 
about  the  enthusiastic  pleasure  of  keeping  them 
and  caring  for  them.  It  takes  a  boy  to  know 
that !  If  the  big  man  that  writes  books  really 
knows  that,  it  is  because  he  has  remained  a  boy  ; 
he  may  have  the  man's  body,  yet  he  retains  the 
boy's  heart. 

One  scientist  with  a  grown  up  body  and  a  boy's 
heart,  Professor  Clifton  F.  Hodge,  writes : 

But  after  all,  childhood — active,  fresh  spontaneous  child- 
hood— and  its  need  of  the  normal  environment  for  growth 
and  vigor,  supplies  the  imperative  demand  for  a  natural  and 
active  nature  study.  Truly  4 '  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we 
come  "  ;  and  when  we  discover  the  right  way,  there  shall  be 
no  M  shades  of  the  prison-house  "  to  "  close  upon  the  grow- 
ing boy  !  "  In  rare  cases  now  we  find  the  charm  of  childlike- 
ness,  the  open  interest  and  rapid  growth,  extending  on 
through  boyhood  and  to  the  end  of  old  age.  When  we  learn 
how  to  educate  normally,  this  may  become  the  rule  rather 
than  the  exception. 

The  teacher  read  on  in  her  book,  while  I  had 
been  silently  soliloquizing.  The  schedule  was  one 
on  mice  in  the  last  of  two  weeks'  assignment  on 
rodents. 

I  fear  that  my  mind  wandered  from  the  reading 
for  I  know  the  children  and  their  interests.  Sam 
let  me  have  a  pair  of  waltzing  mice,  and  had  been 
giving  me  lessons  in  feeding  them.     I  asked  him 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   85 

after  school  if  the  teacher  had  ever  been  down  to 
see  his  pets,  and  he  said  he  had  once  invited  her, 
and  she  seemed  somewhat  interested,  but  she 
must  walk  that  afternoon  with  another  teacher  in 
the  woods  by  Reginald  park  to  get  some  leaves 
for  the  next  day's  lesson.  He  guessed  she  forgot 
it  afterwards. 

Then  I  forgot  that  Sam  was  walking  with  me, 
and  my  mind  wandered  again.  I  was  thinking 
about  some  of  the  others  in  the  school  that  had 
special  interests,  and  I  wondered  and  I  wondered 
till  there  floated  through  my  mind  another  thing 
that  I  had  read  in  Professor  Hodge's  "  Nature 
Study  and  Life  :  " 

In  adult  science  we  have  been  studying  dead  things  so 
long,  dissecting  and  analyzing  type-forms,  that  we  have  well- 
nigh  gone  blind  to  the  living,  active  side  of  nature ;  but 
this  has  furnished  the  primitive  and  fundamental,  and  must 
furnish  the  larger  future,  interest  of  mankind  in  nature.  So 
completely  does  this  side  monopolize  our  college  and  even 
university  courses  in  biology  that  our  teachers  know  noth- 
ing else  to  teach. 

However  much  value  this  may  have  for  the  adult  thought, 
when  we  attempt  to  teach  little  children  we  must  moult  it  allf 
heed  every  suggestion  of  the  Great  Teacher \  and  become  as 
little  children  ourselves. 

There  you  have  the  solution.  Just  so  long  as 
you  let  dilute  or  elementary  science  (good  as  it 


$6      HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

may  be  in  its  place)  crowd  out  all  nature  study, 
just  so  long  will  you  need  schedules.  Every  time 
you  ask  for  a  schedule,  every  time  you  make  all 
the  pupils  do  the  same  work  on  the  same  object, 
you  are  teaching  science.  Not  that  I  love  science 
less,  but,  for  the  young  folks,  that  I  love  nature 
study  more.  I  appeal  to  you  to  take  the  things 
that  come  to  hand  and  as  they  come  to  hand,  and 
let  your  young  people  develop  along  the  line  of 
individual  preferences.  For  nature  study  is  not  to 
be  taught.  Never  make  a  mill  of  your  school  with 
an  everlasting  grind,  grind,  grind,  and  everything 
going  into  one  hopper.  You  are  developing  hu- 
man beings,  human  beings  (not  naturalists  nor 
teachers)  trained  uniformly  in  some  things,  but 
with  enough  nature  study  and  some  other  things 
to  preserve  and  develop  individuality. 

And  yet  a  mere  objection  to  schedules  does  not 
seem  to  get  wholly  at  the  heart  of  the  matter. 
There  surely  is  no  harm  in  intelligently  planning  a 
line  of  thought,  or  of  suggesting  to  the  young  folks 
what  they  will  find  of  interest  for  the  week  or 
month. 

Perhaps  we  get  at  the  real  difficulty  from  another 
point  of  view,  if  we  summarize  by  saying  that  it 
is  all  right  for  the  teacher  to  make  the  schedules  ; 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   87 

all  wrong  for  the  schedules  to  make  the  teacher. 
Keeping  a  diary  may  be  a  pleasant  and  profitable 
outpouring  and  developing  of  one's  best  self ;  the 
diary  may  be  a  drudge-making  master.  So  it  is 
with  schedules.  It  is  all  in  the  way  the  teacher 
uses  them.  This  does  not  mean  a  compromise 
with  a  thing  of  evil ;  it  means  the  right  use  of  a 
thing  that  in  itself  is  essentially  good.  But  it  is 
a  thing  so  commonly  misused  that  it  most  often 
seems  best  to  omit  it  entirely.  "  If  thy  right  eye 
offend  thee,  pluck  it  out." 

Perhaps  my  strong  dislike  for  schedules  in  na- 
ture study,  amounting  almost  to  repugnance,  is  due 
not  so  much  to  anything  intrinsically  wrong  in 
having  schedules  as  in  misusing  them.  Your  nature 
study  must  develop  the  spontaneity,  individuality, 
and  interest  of  the  child.  It  must  wake  him  up  and 
lead  him  out  as  no  other  study  can.  So  far  as  a 
method  or  definite  line  of  thought  on  your  part 
will  aid  in  doing  this,  so  far  it  is  good.  When 
your  method  tends  toward  machine  instructing, 
then  it  is  wholly  bad.  I  have  seen  much  of  this 
bad  kind,  hence,  not  because  I  love  schedules  of 
the  right  kind  less,  but  because  I  love  the  child 
more,  I  have  said  "  out  with  them."  They  are 
dangerous  unless  used  with  extreme  skill. 


"Whoever  has  not  in  youth  collected  plants  and  in- 
sects, knows  not  half  the  halo  of  interest  which  lanes  and 
hedgerows  can  assume.  Whoever  has  not  sought  for  fos- 
sils has  little  idea  of  the  poetic  associations  that  surround 
the  place  where  imbedded  treasures  are  found.  Whoever 
at  the  seaside  has  not  had  a  microscope  and  aquarium,  has 
yet  to  learn  what  the  highest  pleasures  of  the  seaside 
are."— Herbert  Spencer. 

"  Culture  consists  less  in  wide  knowledge  than  in  wider 
sympathy  ;  not  so  much  in  stores  of  facts  as  in  ability  to 
transmute  facts  into  knowledge  ;  not  only  in  well-grounded 
conviction,  but  in  toleration ;  not  alone  in  absorption  of 
wisdom,  but  as  well  in  its  radiation  ;  in  patriotism  that  is 
without  provincialism  ;  in  the  development  of  character. 
But  since  individual  minds  differ  much  in  their  composi- 
tion, no  one  kind  of  treatment  can  be  best  for  all,  and  the 
ideal  system  will  be  that  which  is  elastic  enough  to  allow 
each  to  receive  what  is  best  for  it.  True  culture,  then, 
cannot  be  obtained  by  forcing  all  minds  into  any  one  mould 
however  carefully  that  may  be  made,  but  it  is  rather  at- 
tained by  allowing  each  mind  to  expand  for  itself  under  a 
proper  combination  of  nourishment  from  within  and 
stimulus  from  without/'— William  F.  Ganong,  Ph.  D.,  in 
44  The  Teaching  Botanist." 

88 


CHAPTER  VII 

WHAT  I   DO   CARE  FOR 

"  Oh,  I  don't  care  for  that !  " 

"  And  neither  do  I !  "  I  did  not  say  so  to  him, 
but  I  say  it  to  you. 

I  thought  (and  I  still  think),  that  the  principal 
of  that  normal  school  spoke  somewhat  sneeringly. 
I  had  made  a  distinction  between  the  study  of 
nature  as  the  informal,  intimate,  sympathetic,  un- 
systematic view  of  living  things,  and  the  pursuit 
of  science  as  the  formal,  intellectual,  professional, 
systematic,  and  synthetic  treatment  of  animate 
objects.  But  I  made  no  reply  to  the  covert  sneer. 
The  conversation  dropped  with  his  remark.  He 
seemed  inclined  to  think  that  I  was  quibbling 
over  a  matter  of  names,  and  I  felt  that  if  I  at- 
tempted an  explanation  it  would  be  like  showing 
the  east  where  the  west  is. 

The  trouble  was  right  here.     So  far  as  he  had 

any  views  of  nature  he  was  scientific.     He  was  a 

systematist.     Everything  that  came  to  his   mill 

always  dropped  in  at  the  same  place,  and  was 

89 


go      HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

ground  out  in  the  same  style.  A  peck  took  the 
same  course  as  a  carload. 

If  you  say  that  nature  study  is  merely  the 
study  of  nature  (and  that  is  natural  science 
whether  for  the  university  or  the  kindergarten), 
and  that  all  this  talk  about  a  distinction  in  the 
terms  nature  study  and  elementary  science  is  bosh 
and  you  do  not  care  for  that,  then  I  say  too : 
"And  neither  do  I." 

You  may  call  your  systematizing  and  your 
generalizing  all  the  way  from  your  Ph.D.  down 
to  the  little  fellow  whom  you  are  helping  to  put 
on  his  rubber  shoes,  you  may  call  it  nature  study 
or  what  you  please.  You  may  demonstrate  to 
the  one  that  the  centralizing  tendency  in  the 
nebulae  is  the  same  that  draws  the  apple  to  the 
ground.  You  may  draw  as  many  diagrams  and 
make  as  many  x,  yy  z's,  as  you  please.  You  may 
classify  and  arrange  and  evolutionize  to  your 
heart's  content.  You  may  even  dilute  the  same 
method  and  apply  it  to  the  little  fellow  if  you 
want  to,  and  as  you  pull  on  the  second  overshoe, 
you  may  tell  him  that  he  has  two  feet  and  the 
Tom-turkey  gobbling  outside  the  window  has  the 
same  number,  and  the  chicadee  the  same,  and 
then  you  can  inform  him,  if  you  are  determined 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   91 

to  do  it,  that  they  are  all  in  the  one  class  of 
bipeds.  You  may  generalize  still  further,  since 
the  pussy  cat  is  purring  to  say  good-bye,  as  the 
boy's  father  drives  up  with  a  prancing  horse,  that 
cat  and  horse  are  both  quadrupeds,  and  that  the 
elephant  is  likewise  a  quadruped.  The  next  day 
you  may  put  down  the  whole  list  on  the  black- 
board, and  talk  till  you  are  exhausted,  and  the 
children,  too.  And  your  only  reward  will  be 
exhaustion  ! 

"  But  I  don't  care  for  that,"  with  these  little 
folk.  I  want  you  to  let  the  little  fellow  get  ac- 
quainted with  that  particular  Tom-turkey,  not 
some  other  one,  and  that  chicadee,  that  cat,  that 
horse,  without  reference  to  any  other  biped  or 
quadruped  in  the  world. 

I  would  give  more  for  the  boy's  ability  to  see 
that  one  cat,  and  for  his  power  to  develop  his 
originality  in  his  own  way,  and  for  his  skill  in 
saying  what  he  wants  to  say  about  the  cat,  than 
to  have  him  tell  you  of  all  the  kangaroos  and 
lemurs  and  platypusses  that  ever  ornamented  the 
finest  chromo-chart  that  ever  an  enterprising 
agent  sold  to  your  school  board. 

But  for  that  child,  have  something  in  nature- 
viewing  that   will  let    him  find  himself  (not  be 


92   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

machine  made,  with  others  like  pins  on  a  paper), 
that  will  bring  out  his  love  for  living  things,  in- 
crease his  ability  to  admire,  to  see  and  to  enjoy, 
and  to  tell  you  in  his  own  way,  about  the  objects 
that  interest  him,  not  such  things  as  you  provide 
uniformly  according  to  some  schedule.  For  this 
I  plead  and  for  this  I  do  most  emphatically  care. 
You  may  call  it  nature  study,  elementary  science, 
nature  love,  observation  lessons,  as  you  please. 
But  I  plead  with  you  not  to  monopolize  all  the 
names  into  your  dilute  science,  and  leave  out 
what  I  call  nature  study.  No,  I  do  not  call  it 
quite  that.  If  I  were  asked  to  suggest  a  more 
expressive  title  for  what  I  commonly  express  by 
the  term  nature  study,  and  for  what  I  most  desire, 
I  should  call  it  nature  sympathy  and  appreciation. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

LOVE  OF  NATURE  AND  THE  LOVE  OF  MOTHER 

Nature  study  is  not  one  of  the  utilitarian  stud- 
ies. It  must  not  be  expected  to  do  something 
it  should  not  do.  It  may  coalesce  with  other  de- 
partments of  an  education,  and  should  do  so,  but 
it  is  not  a  stepping  stone  to  them  ;  it  stands  alone. 
Language-study,  drawing,  and  even  mathematics, 
may  be  benefited  by  companionship  with  it,  but 
they  should  never  be  allowed  to  use  nature  study 
as  a  tool  for  their  own  purposes. 

In  its  effect  on  character  building,  nature  study 
is  closely  akin  to  patriotism,  as  I  have  already  said 
in  a  previous  chapter,  and  to  the  life  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 

The  sentiments  are  so  closely  allied  that  they 
may  be  said  to  be  companions ;  and  what  ex- 
President  Harrison  writes  in  the  introduction  to 
"This  Country  of  Ours,"  may  well  be  remem- 
bered for  the  excellence  of  his  proposed  methods 
toward  character  building. 

After  citing  examples  of  love,  indifference  and 
93 


94   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

disregard  as  characteristic  of  various  nations,  he 
says: 

"  If  we  would  strengthen  our  country,  we  must 
cultivate  a  love  of  it  in  our  own  hearts  and  in  the 
hearts  of  our  children  and  neighbors  ;  and  this 
love  for  civil  institutions,  for  a  land,  for  a  flag,  if 
they  are  worthy  and  great  and  have  a  glorious 
history,  is  widened  and  deepened  by  a  fuller 
knowledge  of  them. 

"  A  certain  love  of  one's  native  land  is  instinc- 
tive, and  the  value  of  this  instinct  should  be  al- 
lowed, but  it  is  short  of  patriotism.  When  the 
call  is  to  battle  with  an  invader,  this  instinct  has 
a  high  value.  It  is  true  that  the  large  majority  of 
those  who  have  died  to  found  and  to  maintain 
our  civil  institutions  were  not  highly  instructed  in 
constitutional  law  ;  but  they  were  not  ignorant  of 
the  doctrines  of  human  rights,  and  had  a  deep, 
though  perhaps  very  general,  sense  of  the  value 
of  our  civil  institutions.  If  a  boy  were  asked  to 
give  his  reasons  for  loving  his  mother,  he  would  be 
likely  to  say,  with  the  sweetest  disregard  of  logic 
and  catalogues, 

"  '  Well,  I  just  love  her.'  And  we  must  not  be 
hard  on  the  young  citizen  who  just  loves  his 
country,    however     uninstructed    he     may     be. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   95 

Nevertheless,  patriotism  should  be  cultivated, 
should  in  every  home  be  communicated  to  the 
children,  not  casually,  but  by  plan  and  forethought. 
For  too  long  our  children  got  it  as  they  did  the 
measles,  caught  it. 

"  Now,  in  the  schools,  American  history  and 
American  institutions  as  serious  and  important 
studies  are  beginning  to  have  more,  but  not  yet 
adequate,  attention. 

"  The  impulse  of  patriotism  needs  to  be  in- 
structed, guided,  brought  to  the  wheel  if  it  is  to 
do  the  everyday  work  of  American  politics." 

11  Sentiment,  yes,  never  too  much  ;  but  with  it, 
and  out  of  it,  a  faithful  discharge  of  prosy  routine 
of  a  citizen's  duty.  A  readiness  to  go  to  the  fields  ? 
Yes,  and  equally  to  the  primaries  and  to  the  polls." 

That  is  patriotism  in  the  elementary  schools 
from  the  natural  standpoint,  that  is  building  the 
citizen  from  the  heart.  That  is  beginning  at  the 
right  end.  What  a  foundation  on  which  to  rear 
the  various  superstructures  required  in  the  up- 
building of  a  community  ! 

Loves  his  mother,  "Well  I  just  love  her."  I 
like  that  standpoint  of  loving  his  country,  and  the 
same  spirit  in  loving  this  wonderful  and  beautiful 
world. 


96   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Oh,  no,  some  scientific  appreciator  of  a  mother 
may  say,  that  is  crude  ;  it  flavors  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  of  the  amateur,  of  those  who  love  their 
mother  from  the  heart.  This  is  an  age  of  scien- 
tific spirit,  an  age  of  the  intellect  rather  than  of 
the  affections. 

Do  nothing  so  simple  as  that ;  learn  really  to 
know  your  mother,  and  then  you  can  love  her  with 
solid,  intellectual  appreciation. 

First  collect  some  pictures  and  drawings  of  all 
the  mothers  you  can  find  ;  arrange  them  side  by 
side  and  compare  your  mother  with  them.  That 
will  add  to  your  knowledge  of  the  comparative 
merits  of  mother's  personal  appearance. 

Devote  a  half-hour  at  a  certain  time  every  day 
to  the  study  of  mothers.  Draw  pictures  of  them  ; 
make  a  detailed  list  of  color  of  hair,  number  of 
eyes,  nostrils,  ears;  length  of  chin,  height,  weight, 
number  of  fingers  on  each  hand  ;  state  the  age,  past 
history  and  a  hundred  or  more  other  facts.  Ar- 
range these  details  under  a  few  heads,  draw  a 
bracket  before  each,  and  collocate  these  in  line 
under  one  big  brace,  with  the  word  Mother 
written  in  capital  letters. 

Make  a  drawing  of  your  own  mother  standing 
erect,  and  also  bending  down  to  kiss  you  as  you 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT   97 

start  for  school  in  the  morning.     Sketch  in  detail 
her  eyes,  ringers  and  nose. 

Write  a  list  of  nouns,  adjectives,  verbs  and  ad- 
verbs that  will  apply  to  your  own  mother,  and 
from  these  compose  ten  sentences  each  day  from 
10:15  to  10:45  A.  M.,  in  connection  with  the 
drawing  work,  and  if  the  task  is  completed  before 
the  time  has  expired,  we  will  fold  our  arms  and 
sing  about  our  mothers.  Bear  in  mind  that  you 
must  never  really  go  to  see  your  mother  for 
the  enjoyment  of  seeing  her,  nor  only  for  the 
enjoyment  of  her  loving  presence,  but  you  must 
learn  to  love  her,  and  to  let  her  influence  permeate 
every  fiber  of  your  life,  by  noting  down  with  pad 
and  pencil,  all  possible  details  of  her  physical 
structure. 

But  we  all  know  that  this  is  not  the  method  of 
securing  the  highest  degree  of  love  for  nature  ;  in 
fact  such  a  method  would  tend  to  obtain  a  heart- 
felt love  for  one's  own  mother. 

Too  much  detail,  too  much  method,  too  much 
correlating  kills  it. 
7 


"  Nature  Study  is  the  means  of  training  persons  to  come 
into  thoughtful  contact  with  Nature.  It  thus  becomes  an 
art  and  not  a  science,  excepting  in  its  relations  to  the 
Science  of  Pedagogy.  It  is  the  art  of  training  in  the 
methods  of  studying  those  things  which  are  the  founda- 
tions of  the  natural  sciences.  It  differs  from  science  in 
many  respects.  It  also  differs  from  Object  Lessons  based 
upon  natural  material.  The  success  of  Nature  Study  de- 
pends upon  the  teacher  and  not  upon  the  subject." 

—Prof.  H.  A.  Surface. 

"  For  many  years  it  has  been  one  of  my  most  constant 
regrets  that  no  schoolmaster  of  mine  had  a  knowledge  of 
natural  history,  so  far  at  least  as  to  have  taught  me  the 
grasses  that  grow  by  the  wayside,  and  the  little  winged 
and  wingless  neighbors  that  are  continually  meeting  me 
with  salutations  which  I  cannot  answer,  as  things  are. 
Why  did  not  somebody  teach  me  the  constellations,  too, 
and  make  me  at  home  in  the  starry  heavens  which  are  al- 
ways overhead,  and  which  I  do  not  half  know  to  this  day." 
—-Thomas  Carlyle. 

11  All  things  are  beautiful, 
Because  of  something  lovelier  than  themselves, 
Which  breathes  within  them,  and  will  never  die." 

—Lucy  Larcom. 

98 


CHAPTER  IX 

SCIENCE  IS  NOT  ALL 

We  all  want  science  in  our  colleges,  science 
in  our  high  schools,  and  we  want  it  systemati- 
cally taught.  Our  educational  periodicals  should 
head  their  departments  of  science,  as  science.  We 
teach  science,  then  why  not,  in  the  name  of  com- 
mon sense,  call  it  science. 

But  that  is  not  all.  We  want,  previous  to  it 
and  with  it,  hand  in  hand  as  closest  companions, 
another  important  factor,  a  daily  communion  with 
the  natural  things  of  this  world. 

Before  and  during  our  study  of  science  we  need 
an  acquaintance  with  nature  like  that  of  a  child 
with  his  mother. 

"  To  teach  young  people  or  old  people  how  to 
observe  nature,  is  a  good  deal  like  trying  to  teach 
them  how  to  eat  their  dinner.  The  first  thing 
necessary  in  the  latter  case  is  a  good  appetite ; 
this  given,  the  rest  follows  very  easily.  And  in 
observing  nature,  unless  you  have  the  appetite, 
the  love,  the  spontaneous  desire,  you  will  get  little 

99 


100  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

satisfaction.  It  is  the  heart  that  sees  more  than 
the  mind.  To  love  nature  is  the  first  step  in  ob- 
serving her.  If  a  boy  had  to  learn  fishing  as  a 
task,  what  slow  progress  he  would  make  ;  but  as 
his  heart  is  in  it,  how  soon  he  becomes  an 
adept. 

"  The  eye  sees  quickly  and  easily  those  things 
in  which  we  are  interested.  A  man  interested  in 
horses  sees  every  fine  horse  in  the  country  he  passes 
through ;  the  dairyman  the  cows  ;  the  bee  culturist 
the  bees ;  the  sheep  grower  the  flocks,  etc.  And 
it  is  even  said  that  the  ladies  require  no  effort  to 
note  the  new  bonnets  and  cloaks  on  the  street. 
If  one  is  a  lover  of  birds  or  flowers,  he  easily  sees 
birds  or  flowers  everywhere.  The  fact  is  we  all 
see  and  observe  easily  in  the  line  of  our  business, 
our  tasks,  our  desires." 

I  would  not  teach  a  beautiful,  rhythmical 
recitation  about  the  sturdy  oak,  its  leaves  and 
acorns,  and  then  find,  as  I  did  in  one  city  school- 
room, that  not  a  child  there  had  ever  seen  an  oak 
leaf  nor  an  acorn. 

See  the  bird  capturing  insects  for  food  ;  see 
the  insects  feeding  on  the  plant  which  draws  its 
nourishment  from  the  ground  under  the  influence 
of  the  beneficent  sunshine.     That  is  nature  study, 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  IOI 

and  it  covers  ground  that  the  individual  sciences 
do  not  even  touch. 

Teach  nature  study  by  the  natural,  boy-and-girl 
method.  That  is  the  way  John  Burroughs,  William 
Hamilton  Gibson,  and  others  got  more  than 
seventy-five  per  cent,  of  their  knowledge  of  na- 
ture, and  from  that  rough-and-ready  natural 
method  of  acquiring  it,  they  gained  a  full  store- 
house, from  which  each  drew  according  to  his 
own  testimony,  for  all  the  rest  of  his  life. 

We  should  teach  this  nature  study  in  this  hap- 
hazard, natural  unsystematic  manner,  just  as 
things  come  to  hand,  or  as  we  are  able  to  plan  for 
their  coming  to  hand.  With  it  and  beyond  it  we 
should  teach  and  study  science,  strict,  accurate, 
scientific  science. 

I  would  give  to  every  boy  or  girl  as  nearly  as 
possible  the  same  that  the  wide-awake  child  in 
the  country  has,  or  what  Whittier  calls  the 
"  Knowledge  never  learned  of  schools."  And  on 
that  solid  foundation  I  would  build  the  noble, 
valuable  superstructure  called  science. 

I  would  have  the  boys  and  girls  rush  over  to  the 
apple  tree,  pick  up  handfuls  of  apples,  putting 
some  in  pocket  and  munching  the  rest.  That  is  na- 
ture study  in  the  natural  manner.     I  would  have 


102  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

those  same  boys  and  girls  sit  at  the  table  and  make 
cross  sections  and  vertical  slices  of  some  of  those 
apples,  noting  the  structure,  the  relation  of  seeds, 
cases,  pulp  and  epidermis.  That  is  science,  and  a 
science  not  injured  by  previous  "  nature  study/* 

I  would  have  the  young  folks  climb  on  the  ledge, 
stand  near  the  boulder,  and  have  a  general  good- 
time  in  fun  and  frolic.  That  is  nature  study.  I 
would  tell  them  a  little  of  the  history  of  this  ledge, 
its  relations  to  the  surrounding  country,  its  geo- 
logical structure  and  perhaps  its  chemical  compo- 
sition.    That  is  science. 

Enjoy  the  beautiful  moonlight ;  note  the  bright 
stars  and  planets,  and  construct  the  fanciful 
pictures  of  the  constellation.  That  is  nature 
study.  Tell  of  the  surface  of  that  moon,  the  dis- 
tance of  the  stars,  the  various  physical  characters 
of  the  planets.     That  is  science. 


CHAPTER  X 

"WHAT  DID  YOU  GET?" 

"We  are  indebted,"  says  a  writer  in  "Science 

Gossip,"  "  to  the  humorous  pencil  of  Leach  for  a 

sketch  of  a  languid  gentleman,  who,  pining  for  a 

new  sensation,  is  trying  the  effect  of  riding  up  and 

down  the  Strand,  seated  on  the  roof  of  an  omnibus 

and  picking  out  periwinkles  with  a  pin.     Should 

you  ever  feel  as  though  you  had  exhausted  all 

the  resources  of  the  civilized  portions  of  the  globe, 

do  not  seek  for  distraction  in  boiled  cockles  or  in 

pickled  whelks,  but  go  away  to  the  top  of  a  hill, 

with  woods  and  streams,  and  smiling  fields  dotted 

with  farmsteads  and  villages  spread  before  your 

feet,  and  there  rest  in  solitude  and  wait  on  Nature, 

and  listen  and  watch  for  all  that  her  offspring  will 

do  above,  below  and  around  you,  while  the  teeming 

planet  turns  once  around  its  axis.     Then  seek  a 

similar  communion  with  the  sea;  study  it  from 

even-fall  to  broad  daylight  from   the  top  of  some 

lone,  unfrequented  cliff ;  or  better  still,  commit 

yourself  to  the  heaving  bosom  of  the  great  waters, 
103 


104  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

and  unless  your  soul  be  blind  and  deaf,  you  shall 
learn  things  never  before  dreamed  of  in  your 
philosophy." 

"  What  did  you  get?"     Castellar  tells  you  : 

"  Oh,  Nature;  immovable  in  the  midst  of  move- 
ment, unique  amid  variety,  surrounded  with  ether 
which  penetrates  every  pore,  forming  the  spirit 
and  its  atmosphere,  with  the  continual  succession 
of  organic  beings  which  change  and  are  trans- 
formed. Oh  Nature  !  durable  and  unchangeable  ; 
subject  to  death  and  to  eternity ;  to  the  limited 
and  the  infinite  ;  diffused  over  the  immensity  of 
space  and  compressed  into  organic  beings  from 
the  stars  which  irradiate  the  heavens  to  the  flowers 
which  perfume  the  air  with  their  aroma ;  from  the 
unspeakable  gases  that  evaporate,  to  the  great 
mountain  chains  with  their  glaciers,  where  the 
snow  whitens  the  volcanoes  struggling  with  inter- 
nal fires  ;  from  the  almost  imperceptible  nebulae, 
the  great  worlds  which  travel  through  space ; 
from  the  grain  of  sand  drifted  by  the  wave,  to  the 
furthest  stars  of  the  Milky  Way,  whose  light 
reaches  us  in  twenty  thousand  centuries." 

"What  did  you  get?"  Hear  John  Tyndall's 
answer : 

"  The  lilies  of  the  field  have  a  value  for  us  be- 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  IQ5 

yond  their  botanical  one,  a  certain  lightening  of 
the  heart  accompanies  the  declaration  that  '  Solo- 
mon in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one  of 
these.'  The  sound  of  the  village  bell  which 
comes  mellowed  from  the  valley  to  the  traveler 
upon  the  hill  has  a  value  beyond  its  acoustic  one. 
The  setting  sun  where  it  mantles  with  the  bloom 
of  roses  the  Alpine  snows,  has  a  value  beyond  its 
optical  one.  The  starry  heavens,  as  you  know, 
had  for  Immanuel  Kant  a  value  beyond  their  astro- 
nomical one." 

What  did  you  get  ?  What  did  you  learn  that 
you  did  not  know  before?  Get?  We  got  a 
foundation  to  all  the  Sciences.  In  meteorology 
we  got  the  sunshine,  the  beautiful  blue  sky,  the 
invigorating  air,  and  the  refreshing  breezes.  In 
geology  we  got  a  delightful  tramp  over  the  hills, 
through  the  moist  and  shady  gorges,  across  the 
blooming  fields.  In  entomology,  ornithology,  and 
botany  we  obtained  not  only  enjoyment  but  in- 
spiration. 

Within  my  own  personal  experience,  a  science 
teacher  expressed  surprise  that,  in  my  field  work 
with  the  pupils,  so  few  names  were  mentioned, 
so  few  pencils  and  so  few  pads  of  paper  used. 
Enjoyment  ?     So  you  want  to  have  a  good  time  ? 


106  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Certainly.  For  a  good  time  the  pure  pleasure  of 
a  delightful  tramp. 

"  Walking  should  be  cultivated  as  an  accom- 
plishment. Excursive  legs  help  to  make  an  ex 
cursive  intellect,  and  among  the  aids  to  reflection, 
not  enumerated  by  Coleridge,  are  long  strolls. 
Children,  especially,  should  be  trained  to  walk 
long  distances,  and  to  despise  short  ones.  Walk- 
ing is  a  cheaper  and  more  healthful  exercise  than 
riding,  and  it  has  the  added  advantage  of  train- 
ing to  endurance." 

On  the  same  subject,  hear  what  Rousseau  has 
to  say : 

"  Je  ne  concois  qu'une  maniere  de  voyager 
plus  agreeable  que  d'aller  a  cheval ;  c'est  d'aller  a 
pied.  On  part  a  son  moment,  on  s'arrete  a  sa 
volonte,  on  fait  tant  et  si  peu  d'exercice  qu'on 
ne  veut.  Quand  on  ne  veut  qu'arriver,  on  peut 
courir  en  chaise  de  poste ;  mais  quand  on  veut 
voyager,  il  faut  aller  a  pied." 


CHAPTER  XI 

COMMONPLACE    NATURE 

In  stating  facts  never  search  for  the  most  start- 
ling. Nature  in  her  simplicity  is  amply  wonderful 
and  instructive.  I  know  a  girl  that  came  home 
from  school,  and  said  that  the  teacher  had  been 
giving  talks  on  astronomy.  Upon  being  ques- 
tioned she  told  how  long  it  would  take  a  man  to 
walk  to  the  sun  ;  how  long  for  an  express  train 
to  get  there  ;  the  size  of  a  cylinder  of  ice  that  could 
be  driven  into  it  at  a  certain  rate  and  be  converted 
into  steam  as  fast  as  it  touched  the  hot  surface. 

Upon  being  questioned    further    she   replied, 

"  That  is  all  I  can  tell.     I  remember  only  the 

things  I  didn't  believe !  *' 
107 


In  its  broadest  sense,  Nature  Study  is  a  keen,  appreciative 
interest  in  the  common  things  about  us.  It  means  ac- 
curate seeing  and  clear  thinking.  Nature  Study  is  the 
most  vital  idea  to-day  in  education.  It  is  the  getting  of 
God's  truth  at  first  hand.  It  is  studying  things  instead  of 
studying  about  things.  Do  not  call  it  Elementary  Science. 
The  true  spirit  of  Nature  Study  is  opposed  to  cold,  formal 
study  of  lifeless  things.  It  is  the  informal  study,  for  short 
periods,  of  things  that  interest.  It  opens  a  new  world  of 
delight.  Under  it,  the  commonplace  becomes  transfigured. 
It  shows  us  how  we  may  get  the  very  best  out  of  life  no 
matter  where  we  are,  how  to  realize  the  possibilities  of 
happiness  that  exist  even  in  the  most  unpleasant  en- 
vironment.— Julia  Ellen  Rogers  in  "Among  Green 
Trees." 

The  "Wonderland  of  childhood  must  henceforth  besought 
within  the  domains  of  truth.  The  strange  facts  of  natural 
history,  and  the  sweet  mysteries  of  flowers  and  forests, 
and  hills  and  waters,  will  profitably  take  the  place  of  the 
fairy  lore  of  the  past.— John  G.  Whittier. 

"  For  hark !  how  blithe  the  throstle  sings ! 
He  too,  is  no  mean  preacher. 
Come  forth  into  the  light  of  things, 
Let  Nature  be  your  teacher." 

—Wordsworth. 
108 


CHAPTER  XII 

VICE  VERSA 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  man  who  read 
in  his  newspaper : 

"  WONDERS  IN  OTHER  WORLDS. 

GREAT  DISCOVERIES  BY  ASTRONOMERS 

CAN  BE  SEEN  BY  AID  OF  A  SMALL  TELESCOPE," 

ETC.,  ETC. 

And  this  man  said  to  himself  I  will  forthwith 
get  me  a  small  telescope  that  I  too  may  see  some 
of  these  strange  visions  before  I  die.  In  his 
eager  waiting,  the  machine  arrived.  Then  the 
big  man,  taking  his  little  boy,  the  box  with  the 
long  tube  and  the  three  legs,  hastily  proceeded  to 
the  back  yard. 

"  Which  way  does  the  thing  go  ?  "  quoth  the 
little  boy. 

"  I  don't  know  ;  I  find  no  instructions  on  that 

point,"   said  the  big  man,  fumbling  amidst  the 

packing.     "  But,"   he  meditated,  "  I   think   that 

little  glass  is  for  the  little  star,  and  this  big  glass  is 
109 


IIO  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

for  my  two  eyes,  so  far  apart."  Then  he  looked 
at  the  little  star  and  at  the  big  moon,  and  slowly 
said,  "  They  are  so  very,  very,  very  small." 

But  the  little  boy  roguishly  pulled  down  the 
small  end  and  peered  through  it.  "  Am  I  too  so 
very,  very  small  ?     Why,  you  are  very,  very  big." 

Haec  fabula  docet,  'tis  easy  to  get  things  t'other 
end  to. 

•  •  •  •  •  • 

There  once  was  a  man  (perhaps  there  has  been 
more  than  one),  who,  looking  through  the  big  end 
of  the  university,  said,  "  I  will  now  view  the  child 
in  Nature."     So  he  wrote  in  a  book: 

"  Science  teaching  for  a  few  years  past  has  been 
gradually  working  itself  downward  from  the  col- 
leges and  high  schools  into  those  of  lower  grades." 
And  realizing  that  the  thing  did  not  work,  he 
proceeds  apologetically  to  state  that  "  In  most 
cases,  the  plans  followed,  while  fairly  well  adapted 
to  the  demands  of  advanced  pupils,  have  been 
poorly  fitted  to  the  needs  of  beginners."  So  this 
book  (Professor  Jackman's  "  Nature  Study ") 
starts  out  with  "the  aim  to  furnish  a  guide  for 
teachers  in  the  common  schools  who  wish  their 
pupils  to  pursue  an  adequate  and  symmetrical 
course  in  Nature  Science." 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  III 

In  other  words,  he  pulled  out  the  object  glass 
from  "  the  college  and  high  school  "  end  that 
seemed  to  be  "  poorly  fitted,"  and  substituted 
another  in  the  form  of  a  series  of  chapters  on 
technical  science,  diluted  and  labeled,  botany, 
zoology,  chemistry,  and  mineralogy. 

I  am  not  asserting  that  this  is  not  a  helpful 
book.  It  is.  It  has  many  excellencies,  but  it  is 
wrong  end  to,  and  in  this  misfortune  it  is  not 
alone. 

But  recently  a  few  educators  have  pulled  the 
telescope  sharply  around.  Probably  the  most 
marked  and  efficient  movement  has  been  made 
by  Professor  Bailey.  Here  is  his  acute  vice 
versa  : 

"  Nature  study  is  a  revolt  from  the  teaching  of 
mere  science  in  the  elementary  grades.  .  .  . 
Nature  study  is  not  science.  It  is  not  fact.  It 
is  spirit.  It  is  concerned  with  the  child's  outlook 
on  the  world.  .  .  .  On  the  main  thesis,  that 
Nature-study  teaching  is  one  thing  and  that 
science  teaching  for  science's  sake  is  another,  I 
have  no  hesitation." 

Strange  that  it  took  so  long  to  realize  this  fact 
in  nature-study  work,  and  to  get  the  thing  vice 
versa.     For,  after  all,  it  is  merely  applying   to 


112  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

this  branch  of  education  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  general  pedagogy.  What  is  claimed  for 
nature  study  is  no  exception  from  what  is  claimed 
for  other  studies.  Professor  Preston  W.  Search, 
in  "An  Ideal  School,"  puts  the  same  thing  in 
this  way : 

"  There  may  be  virtue  of  a  kind  in  the  class 
room  where  the  teacher  carefully  plans  all  the 
steps  of  procedure,  and  insists  on  the  performance 
of  work  according  to  her  ideals  ;  but,  in  educa- 
tive worth,  it  cannot  compare  with  that  where 
the  pupil  feels  the  glow  which  comes  from  per- 
sonal discovery  and  accomplishment.  It  is  a 
little  thing  to  be  an  imitator  ;  a  great  thing  to 
be  a  creator.  The  father  who  insists  on  his  son 
holding  the  board  while  he  drives  the  nail  may 
drive  the  nail  well,  but  he  who  holds  the  board 
while  the  son  drives  the  nail  does  better.  The 
nail  may  not  be  so  well  driven,  but  he  educates 
his  son.  Even  so  in  the  schoolroom  the  child 
must  be  permitted  to  do  his  own  work.  Dead 
time  must  give  place  to  active  endeavor.  The 
child  must  be  a  discoverer,  an  originator,  a  crea- 
tor.    He  must  be  permitted  to  drive  the  nail." 

This  is  the  same  kind  of  vice  versa,  or  trying  to 
hoist  the  father  over  to  one  side  of  the  board,  and 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  113 

to  push  the  son  to  the  other,  where  he  may  use 
the  nail.  At  first  thought  it  seems  as  if  more  can 
be  seen  by  looking  into  the  big  glass,  but  a  trial 
of  both  ends  of  the  telescope,  or  better  still  an 
understanding  of  the  optical  principles  involved  in 
its  construction,  informs  which  end  is  the  right 
end.  Perhaps,  at  first  thought,  and  not  under- 
standing the  child,  it  may  seem  that  the  right  way 
to  teach  is  to  begin  with  a  teacher  who  can  tell 
a  great  deal.  But  the  more  experience  you  have 
with  the  child,  the  more  firmly  will  you  be  con- 
vinced that  this  first  impression  is  not  the  right 
impression.  Begin  and  continue  with  him  as  an 
original  discoverer,  so  far  as  you  are  able,  and  as 
far  as  he  will  admit  of  such  treatment. 

It  may,  indeed,  be  quicker  for  the  father  to  drive 
all  the  nails,  yet  the  purpose  in  pedagogy  is  not 
to  do  the  work,  but  to  teach  the  pupil  how  to  do 
it.  Telling  the  boy  how  to  swim,  or  letting  him 
stand  on  the  bank  while  you  swim,  will  never 
teach  him  the  art.  Let  him  get  into  the  water 
and  splash  and  sink.  He  will  gain  strength  and 
skill  and  pleasure  every  time  he  goes  under  and 
comes  spluttering  up. 

Even   if  you    have  made,  and   enjoyed   some 

original  discovery  in  natural  history,  do   not  tell 
8 


114    HOW  NATURE  STUDY   SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

the  boy  about  it.  Do  a  little  of  the  vice  versa. 
Skillfully  put  him  in  the  way  to  repeat  your  ob- 
servation, if  possible.  At  the  very  least,  let  him 
tell  you  about  some  of  his  own  personal  observa- 
tions. You  hold  the  board.  He  may  pound  his 
fingers  occasionally.  It  will  toughen  them. 
You  rest  on  the  bank  while  he  splashes  and  sinks. 
He  will  soon  come  up  for  breath.  Never  fear  for 
the  lad.  You  have  only  to  keep  an  eye  to  him 
and  a  hand  outstretched,  as  you  keep  an  eye  at 
the  right  end  of  the  reversed  telescope,  and  a 
hand  on  the  focusing  adjustment. 


CHAPTER   XIII 

PLANT  LIFE 

I  desire  to  emphasize  both  of  these  words. 
The  teacher  should  assist  the  pupil  to  study  and 
to  love  plants,  not  parts  of  plants,  but  the  plant, 
root  and  all.  The  flower  may.be  the  most  attrac- 
tive, but  it  should  not  monopolize  attention. 
Rather  let  it,  however  beautiful,  be  an  attraction 
toward  the  entire  personality  of  the  plant. 

A  sweet  and  beautiful  face  wins  us,  not  to  the 
face  alone,  but  to  the  person,  and  to  the  individu- 
ality. We  love  many  persons  whose  countenances 
are  neither  beautiful  nor  sweet,  but  whose  char- 
acteristics, whose  personal  qualities  are  so  sweet 
and  so  beautiful,  that  they  seize  our  affection, 
because  they  are  so  exactly  and  so  mysteriously 
adapted  to  fill  a  vacant  place  in  our  own  soul. 
We  crave  exactly  these,  and  none  but  these  will 
supply  our  need.  We  find  such  winning  char- 
acteristics in  habits,  in  kindness  of  heart,  in  gen- 
eral culture,  and  especially  in  the  manifestation 
of  good  will  toward  us.  Some  persons  are  so 
"5 


Il6  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

blessed  that  they  combine  all  these  qualities.  So 
should  it  be  with  our  love  and  interest  for  plants. 
We  are  attracted  by  the  bloom  of  one,  by  the 
unique  or  interesting  life  history  of  another,  by 
the  method  of  growth  or  by  the  adaptation  to  its 
environment  of  another.  We  admire  still  another 
because  it  is  useful.  A  well-balanced  man  is 
poetical  as  well  as  utilitarian.  A  well-balanced 
teacher  is  especially  both.  But  each  of  these 
qualities,  whether  it  be  beauty  of  bloom,  novelty 
of  growth,  utilitarian  service,  or  some  other  feature, 
should  draw  us  to  the  plant  as  a  whole,  not  to  a 
single  bit  of  its  anatomy. 

Tennyson  was  attracted  by  the  flower,  but  his 
interest  was  in  the  plant.  He  uses  the  word 
flower  as  a  synonym  for  the  entire  structure,  and 
there  found  something  more  interesting,  instruc- 
tive, and  important  than  beauty  only,  however 
valuable  beauty  may  be,  and  its  beauty  is  inde- 
scribable and  immeasurable. 

11  Flower  in  the  crannied  wall, 
I  pluck  you  out  of  the  crannies, 
Hold  you  here,  root  and  all,  in  my  hand, 
Little  flower,  but  if  I  could  understand 
What  you  are,  root  and  all,  and  all  in  all, 
I  should  know  what  God  and  man  is." 

That   is   the  right   spirit   for   nature  study  in 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  WJ 

teacher  or  pupil,  a  desire  led  from  the  flower  at 
first  uppermost  in  mind,  to  a  greater  interest, 
which  is,  or  should  be,  to  know  the  whole,  "  root 
and  all."  I  fear  that  many  of  us  make  the  mis- 
take of  saying  in  action,  if  not  in  words  : 

Flower  in  the  crannied  wall, 

I  pluck  you  from  the  crannies, 

Pull  to  pieces  all  your  parts,  in  my  hand, 

Little  flower,  but  if  I  could  understand 

Pistils,  stamens,  and  pollen,  all  in  all, 

I  should  know  what  botany  is. 

I  can  see  no  better  reason,  at  least  in  the  teach- 
ing of  young  children,  for  administering  doses  of 
the  biology  of  sex,  and  of  histology  diluted,  than 
for  teaching  the  same  things  regarding  animals. 
The  study  of  sex,  and  of  basic  life-functions, 
should  be  postponed  till  we  reach  science  in  the 
higher  grades  in  the  high-school  or  college.  There 
is  enough  to  see  and  to  study  in  those  grades 
where  the  nature  study  phases  of  the  plant  are 
introduced ;  that  is,  in  getting  acquainted  with 
the  plant  as  a  whole,  from  seed  to  maturity. 
How  to  know  the  wild  flowers  is  good  ;  how  to 
know  plants  is  vastly  better. 

Let  me  now  emphasize  the  second  word  in  my 
title.     Our  knowledge  and  our  love  of  plants  are 


Il8  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

poorly  manifested  by  chasing  them  over  hill  and 
into  forest,  down  the  ravine,  through  the  meadow 
and  across  the  swamp,  in  killing  them,  drying 
them,  pressing  them,  sticking  them  on  paper, 
poisoning  them,  and  last,  but  not  least,  by  hurl- 
ing jaw-breaking  polysyllabic  Latinized  names 
at  them.  Better  let  us  know  them  as  living  things. 
The  child  who  cares  for  pets,  loves  them  better  than 
the  taxidermist  who  kills  them,  stuffs  them,  and 
sells  them  for  an  advertisement  in  a  saloon,  or  in 
the  window  of  a  cheap  restaurant.  Cultivate  in 
the  young  folks,  then,  the  nourishing,  caring  love 
of  living  plants.  Better  one  plant  grown  from 
seed  to  maturity,  and  watched  in  all  its  stages, 
than  a  hundred  mummified  in  an  herbarium. 
Have  you  seen  the  sprouting  (no,  I  don't  mean 
peas  and  beans,  too  often  with  a  few  tadpoles  and 
a  cocoon  or  two,  the  all-embracing  synonym  of 
nature  study),  but  have  you  really  seen  the  first 
steps  in  the  life  of  the  daisies,  wild  carrot, "  butter- 
and  eggs,"  tick  trefoils,  acorns,  all  easily  gathered 
on  a  "  thousand  hills,"  and  all  easily  germinated  ? 
Why  is  it  that  we  commonly  study  seeds  from 
the  garden  in  early  spring,  and  then  go  to  the 
wild  flowers  of  the  field  in  May  and  June? 
Would  it  not  have  been  better  to  begin  with  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  II9 

seeds  of  the  wild  plants,  or  to  continue  with  the 
growing  plants  of  the  garden  ? 

Beans  and  peas  are  germinated  in  many  schools, 
but  in  few  are  they  grown  to  maturity,  or  brought 
from  home  gardens,  so  that  the  flower  and  the 
bud  may  be  admired  as  buttercups  and  daisies  are 
adored.  I  protest  that  it  is  illogical  to  begin 
in  May  with  peas  and  beans,  jump  in  June  to 
wild  flowers,  and  land  in  the  autumn  on  tick  tre- 
foils, stick-tights,  and  chestnut  burrs.  It  is  con- 
fusing. Let  us  know  one  plant  thoroughly,  if 
we  have  no  time  to  do  more.  Let  us  know  the 
sprouting  chestnut  and  the  bean  pod,  let  us  know 
the  dandelion  and  the  milkweed  seeds,  sprouting 
as  well  as  floating  with  a  puff,  puff  in  mid  air. 
Of  course,  they  are  pretty,  and  the  children  do 
not  need  to  be  told  that  they  are,  nor  to  have  the 
floating  seeds  blown  about  the  schoolroom.  Too 
often  such  an  illustration  of  a  well-known  fact 
makes  the  teacher  ridiculous. 

Feed  the  same  growing  plants  on  different 
soils,  and  different  plants  on  the  same  soil,  and 
note  results.  Let  them  grow  in  sunshine  and  in 
shade,  even  in  darkness.  Let  them  grow  from  the 
dark  toward  the  light.  Let  us  have  also  aquatic 
plants,  submerged  and  floating  plants. 


120  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Let  us  have  common  plants,  and  more  glorify- 
ing of  the  commonplace,  more  of  the  spirit  of 
Rennie,  the  naturalist : 

"It  can  never  be  too  strongly  impressed  upon  a  mind 
anxious  for  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  that  the  commonest 
things  by  which  we  are  surrounded  are  deserving  of  minute 
and  careful  attention." 

If  there  is  not  room  for  all,  set  aside  the  gera- 
nium, and  substitute  a  squash  vine ;  set  aside 
the  calla,  and  substitute  a  beet ;  a  turnip  is  as  in- 
teresting and  a  good  deal  more  important  than  a 
fuschia.  There  is  much  wisdom  wrapped  up  in  a 
cabbage  head,  provided  it  comes  from  the  field. 

Keep  in  mind  that  the  object  is  to  make  the 
child  not  a  botanist,  but  a  lover  of  natural  beauty, 
to  develop  his  capacity  to  appreciate  Nature's 
commonplace  things.  As  Professor  Bailey  puts 
it: 

"The  happiness  of  the  ignorant  man  is  largely  the 
thoughts  born  of  physical  pleasure  ;  that  of  the  educated 
man  is  the  thoughts  born  of  intellectual  pleasures.  One  may 
find  comradeship  in  a  groggery,  the  other  may  find  it  in  a 
dandelion  ;  and  inasmuch  as  there  are  more  dandelions  than 
groggeries  in  most  communities,  the  educated  man  has  the 
greater  chance  of  happiness. 

11  If  one  is  to  be  happy,  he  must  be  in  sympathy  with  com- 
mon things.  He  must  live  in  harmony  with  his  environment. 
One  cannot  be  happy  yonder  nor  to-morrow  ;  he  is  happy 
here  and  now,  or  never.    Our  stock  of  knowledge  of  common 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  121 

things  should  be  great.     Few  of  us  can  travel.     We  must 
know  the  things  at  home. ' ' 

Study  these  common  plants  of  the  garden  and 
of  the  field,  in  the  schoolroom  as  well  as  in  their 
natural  habitat.  Then  do  not  look  down  so 
often  that  you  fail  to  note  the  glorious  things 
above  and  the  grand  plants  in  the  forest.  Note 
the  struggle  for  existence  in  the  shrubs  and 
tangled  undergrowth  on  the  borders  of  the  mead- 
ows and  in  the  swamps.  In  the  forest  you  may 
see  the  victors  that  have  fought  successfully  with 
their  rivals  of  long  ago,  and  now  have  the  field 
pretty  completely  to  themselves.  Thus  viewed, 
the  plants  become  sentient  things.  We  discover 
life  in  them,  and  love  them. 


"The  nature  study  that  is  true  to  child  life 
must  first  of  all  afford  free  scope  to  the  passion 
for  activity  and  guide  this  toward  wholesome 
channels.  It  should  at  the  same  time  infuse  life 
and  spontaneity  into  school  work,  and  so  lighten 
rather  than  increase  the  task  of  the  teacher." 

Prof.  Clifton  F.  Hodge. 


"  Nature  Study  should  lead  to  a  sympathetic  acquaint- 
ance with  living  plants  and  animals  in  their  natural 
environment."— A.  C.  Boyden. 

"  This  introductory  relationship  with  Nature  is  a  resource 
of  inexhaustible  delight  and  enrichment ;  to  establish  it 
ought  to  be  as  much  a  part  of  every  education  as  the 
teaching  of  the  rudiments  of  formal  knowledge;  and  it 
ought  to  be  as  great  a  reproach  to  a  man  not  to  be  able  to 
read  the  open  pages  of  the  world  about  him  as  not  to  be 
able  to  read  the  open  page  of  the  book  before  him.  It  is  a 
matter  of  instinct  with  a  few  ;  it  may  be  a  matter  of  edu- 
cation with  all.  Even  those  who  are  born  with  the  eyes 
and  ears  of  naturalists  must  reinforce  their  native  aptitude 
by  training." — Hamilton  Wright  Mabie. 

"  Is  there  anything  more  delightful  than  the  fatigue  of 
a  summer  afternoon's  long  ramble  after  objects  one  loves? 
You  are  not  tired  of  them,  but  with  them.  It  is  a  delicious 
fatigue.  Subsequent  years  of  trouble  cannot  obliterate  the 
charmed  impressions.  They  are  the  sunniest  spots  in  one's 
memory.  Their  recollections  come,  like  angels'  visits,  to 
unconsciously  relieve  us  in  after-years  of  many  a  sad 
trouble  and  trial.  They  should  be  laid  up  in  store  when 
you  are  young,  so  that  they  can  be  drawn  upon  when  you 
are  old.  Then  the  sunshine  of  youth  is  stored  to  gild  the 
troubled  days  of  matured  manhood  and  the  darker  shadows 
of  old  age."— Dr.  J.  E.  Taylor,  in  "  The  Playtime  Natu- 
ralist." 

122 


CHAPTER  XIV 
SCHOOL  GARDENS 

Plants  need  food,  not  necessarily  earth,  because 
earth  is  merely  the  matrix  that  contains  the  food 
in  a  more  or  less  extended  form.  The  rootlets  of 
the  plant  will  explore  every  tiny  space  about  and 
among  the  particles  of  soil  for  a  bit  of  nutriment 
in  solution. 

I  never  see  a  rootlet  or  a  root-hair  without 
thinking  of  the  proboscides  of  honey  bees.  The 
bee  explores  many  a  flower  for  a  drop  of  nectar. 
She  gathers  from  all  sources,  till  by  her  efforts, 
combined  with  those  of  thousands  of  others,  suffi- 
cient food  is  provided  for  the  entire  colony.  As 
each  bee  explores  the  flowers  of  a  certain  territory, 
gathering  the  greater  portion  of  the  nectar  within 
that  region,  so  each  root-hair  searches  over,  around, 
under,  its  small  domain  of  perhaps  a  dozen  micro- 
scopic granules,  or  within  its  little  mass  of  partly 
decayed  vegetable  mould,  each  working  in  co- 
operation with  legions  of  others,  so  that  the  en- 
tire plant  is  provided  with  sustenance,  as  the  bees 

123 


124  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

working  in  company  collect  for  the  whole  swarm. 
This  is  the  natural  method  of  gathering  honey. 
To  understand  it  fully,  the  work  of  a  swarm  should 
be  actually  seen.  But  to  enable  us  to  make  a 
careful  study  of  their  actions,  it  is  not  really  nec- 
essary for  the  bees  to  collect  the  nectar  in  the 
manner  ordained  by  nature.  They  may  be  arti- 
ficially fed. 

So  in  studying  plants,  it  is  well  to  know  at  least 
a  few  as  they  grow  in  the  soil,  whether  in  the 
field,  the  garden,  or  a  box  of  earth.  But,  fortu- 
nately, it  is  not  necessary  that  all  our  investiga- 
tions should  be  made  in  this  manner.  The  method 
can  be  adapted  to  the  materials  at  hand  in  the 
country ;  indeed,  the  young  people's  study  of 
plants  should  be  mostly  of  those  in  their  natural 
environments,  with  a  few  artificially  fed,  so  as  to 
bring  the  entire  organism  under  immediate  and 
close  inspection. 

The  conditions  are  reversed  for  the  city  child. 
He  has  few  opportunities  for  access  to  plants  in 
their  native  places,  limited  as  he  is  to  the  trees 
and  shrubs  in  the  public  park,  or  to  those  seen  on 
an  occasional  visit  in  the  country.  Here  enters 
the  special  advantage  of  artificial  culture. 

As  has  been  said,  the  plant  does  not  want  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 25 

earth,  since  it  absorbs  the  inorganic  matters  which 
it  needs  for  its  food,  as  they  percolate  in  solution 
through  the  soil.  The  student  of  inorganic  chem- 
istry knows  what  these  are,  and  that  they  may  be 
supplied  to  the  plant  under  investigation,  without 
the  intervention  of  the  soil.  All  that  is  needed  is 
some  material,  be  it  sawdust,  pebbles,  shot,  beads, 
or  any  other  substance  through  which  the  roots 
may  pass,  to  seek  the  food  artificially  applied  to 
this  artificial  soil.  As  honey  may  be  purchased 
in  the  market,  and  supplied  to  the  bees  by  spread- 
ing it  on  almost  any  convenient  material,  so  that 
they  may  have  easy  access  to  it,  so  this  chemically 
isolated  nutriment  may  be  manufactured  in  a  form 
convenient  for  solution  in  the  water  which  is  poured 
over  the  substance  that  upholds  the  plant  and 
gives  the  rootlets  easy  access  to  their  food  supply. 
Several  botanical  chemists  have  provided  such 
food.  Perhaps  the  best  is  that  made  according  to 
the  following  formula  by  Professor  Sachs,  and 
pressed  into  tablets  for  the  sake  of  convenience. 
Each  of  these  tablets  is  composed  of  the  follow- 
ing : 

Metric  weight  (nearly) 
Common  table  salt  (Sodium  chloride,  NaCl), 

2  grains.         .162  grams. 
Plaster  of  Paris — Gypsum  (Calcium  sulphate,  CaSO  4), 

2  grains.        .162  grams. 


126  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Epsom  salts  (Magnesium  sulphate,  MgS0  4), 

2  grains.        .  162  grams. 
Phosphate  of  lime,  nearly  the  same  as  burned  bones. 
(Calcium  phosphate,  Ca3  (P04)2, 

2  grains.         .162  grams. 
East  India  saltpetre— Nitre  (Potassium  nitrate,  KNO3), 

5  grains.        .325  grams. 
Compound  of  iron  and  chlorine  (Ferric  chloride,  FeCl3), 

nearly  1-10  grain. 
To  make  the  food  solution,  two  tablets  are  required  for 
each  pint  (500  ccm  nearly)  of  water.  Crush  them,  and  be 
sure  that  they  are  entirely  dissolved,  and  always  shake  the 
solution  before  using  it.  Keep  the  plants  thoroughly  moist- 
ened with  this,  and  it  will  supply  them  with  both  food  and 
drink. 

This  is  well  known  in  all  botanical  laboratories. 
It  makes  an  ideal  food  for  our  common  plants, 
and  the  device  solves  the  problem  of  school  gar- 
dens in  which  little  soil  can  be  used.  Let  the 
seeds  germinate  in  warm,  moist  air  supplied  in  any- 
convenient  manner,  the  most  convenient  perhaps 
being  wet  cotton  batting.  Let  the  plant  grow  on 
mosquito  netting  stretched  across  the  top  of  a 
tumbler,  or  other  receptacle  full  of  the  solution, 
or  in  sawdust,  pebbles,  or  in  almost  any  convenient 
material  kept  wet  with  it.  A  luxurious  crop  may 
be  grown  in  brick-dust,  or  in  an  old  tomato  can, 
or  in  a  bowl  filled  with  sand  or  with  pulverized 
stone  from  a  macadamized  road.  All  you  need 
is  a  receptacle  for  the  material  through  which  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  12/ 

roots  may  penetrate  in  darkness.  You  supply  the 
food  and  nature  does  the  rest.  If  the  growth  is 
on  a  net  stretched  across  a  transparent  vessel  con- 
taining only  the  liquid,  with  no  opaque  objects 
among  which  the  roots  may  naturally  shun  the 
light,  heavy  paper  or  black  cloth  should  be  wrapped 
around  the  glass,  the  wrapper  to  be  removed  when- 
ever it  is  desired  to  examine  the  plant. 

Children  like  novelty.  By  this  artificial  feeding 
there  is  no  limit  to  the  novelty.  A  cup-like  de- 
pression may  be  chipped  in  the  side  of  a  brick, 
and  the  fragments  put  back  into  the  hole.  Place 
the  brick  on  a  plate,  supply  the  food,  and  ger- 
minate the  seed  on  the  chippings.  The  bits  of 
brick  hold  the  plant  and  you  feed  it. 

A  cloth  may  be  stretched  between  two  supports, 
and  the  nutrient  solution  applied  by  allowing  it 
to  drip  through  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  a  sus- 
pended can.  The  plants  may  be  grown  on  this 
cloth  like  epiphytes.  It  is  not  absolutely  neces- 
sary that  the  roots  be  kept  in  darkness,  but 
growth  is  hastened  and  improved,  by  placing  a  box 
with  openings  so  arranged  that  the  plant  may  be 
in  the  light  and  the  roots  in  the  dark. 

The  roots  are  almost  seen  to  grow.  The  ap- 
pearance of  new  root  hairs  is  looked  for  eagerly. 


128   HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

The  writer  has  experimented  with  these  food- 
tablets  in  a  great  variety  of  methods  and  always 
with  success.  They  are  used  in  the  university 
and  in  the  kindergarten.  The  technical  botanist 
appreciates  their  convenience,  and  the  youngest 
child,  mixing  a  little  sawdust  in  a  teacup  and 
growing  a  few  plants  in  it,  finds  entertainment 
and  instruction. 

Plants  may  also  be  easily  grown  without  even 
a  shelf  or  a  table.  All  that  is  needed  is  a  wide- 
mouthed  bottle,  filled  with  pebbles.  Climbing 
plants  may  thus  be  easily  trained  around  the 
window,  from  jars  hanging  at  the  side  of  the 
frame. 

When  large  plants  are  growing  in  small  vessels, 
I  am  often  asked,  "  Where  are  the  roots  ?  "  The 
only  explanation  that  I  can  offer  is,  that  under 
this  artificial  feeding  the  plants  seem  to  require 
the  roots  to  be  few  and  short.  I  have  grown  at 
least  a  dozen  plants  to  a  height  of  more  than  two 
feet  from  sawdust  held  in  two-thirds  of  an  egg 
shell. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  MICROSCOPE  IN  NATURE  STUDY 

No  one  who  possesses  a  pocket-microscope  of  even  the 
most  limited  powers  can  fail  to  find  amusement  and  instruc- 
tion even  though  he  were  in  the  midst  of  the  Sahara  itself. 
There  is  this  great  advantage  in  the  microscope,  that  no  one 
need  feel  in  want  of  objects  as  long  as  he  possesses  his  instru- 
ment and  a  sufficiency  of  light. — Rev.  J.  G.  Wood. 

If  normal  eyesight  is  so  valuable  that  even  a 
slight  defect  promptly  brings  forth  efforts  to 
remedy  it,  then  why  do  we  not  hail  with  joy  the 
aid  of  even  a  small  microscope,  that  will  add  so 
greatly  to  our  capacity  of  seeing  ?  The  microscope 
is  not  an  occult  instrument  of  a  special  science, 
necessitating  a  knowledge  of  that  science  in  order 
to  appreciate  the  instrument.  It  is  true  that  the 
microscope  is  used  extensively  in  scientific  work, 
and  this  fact  is  so  generally  accepted  that  the 
statement,  at  least  in  popular  thought,  seems  to 
prove  too  much,  since  the  instrument  is  believed  to 
be  inseparable  from  the  science.  But  the  micro- 
scope is  in  itself  nothing  but  an  instrument  with 

which  to  see.     This  is  as  true  of  optical  aids  for 
9  129 


I30  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

viewing  distant  objects.  The  Yerkes  telescope, 
or  an  opera-glass  used  to  view  the  skies,  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  seeing ;  it  is  another  set  of 
eyes,  if  you  please,  with  which  to  peer  into  the 
infinitely  great  and  distant  world ;  and  to  use  the 
microscope  is  to  see  into  an  equally  wonderful,  but 
infinitely  minute  creation.  As  the  reader  now 
knows,  nature  study,  in  its  school  sense,  is  informal 
observation  of  nature.  When  we  synthesize,  class- 
ify, and  note  details  carefully,  our  observations 
are  scientific.  Of  the  same  objects  we  may  thus 
have  with  the  unaided  sight,  either  nature-study 
or  science.  The  seeing  is  not  made  science  by 
optical  aid,  but  by  our  purpose  and  the  standpoint 
from  which  we  view  the  objects.  You  do  not 
think  it  necessary  to  be  an  astronomer  in  order  to 
look  up  and  enjoy  the  beauty  of  the  glittering 
stars.  No  one  regards  John  Burroughs  as  an  as- 
tronomer deeply  versed  in  that  science,  and  yet 
no  one  has  expressed  better  than  he  this  nature- 
study  phase  of  celestial  seeing : 

11  How  often  do  we  really  see  the  stars  ?  Probably  a  great 
many  people  never  see  them  at  all,  that  is  never  look  upon 
them  with  any  thrill  of  emotion.  If  I  see  them  a  few  times 
a  year,  I  think  myself  in  luck.  If  I  deliberately  go  out  to 
see  them,  I  am  quite  sure  to  miss  them  ;  but  occasionally,  as 
one  glances  up  to  them  in  his  lonely  night  walk,  the  mind 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  13I 

opens  or  the  heavens  open — which  is  it  ? — and  he  has  a  mo- 
mentary glimpse  of  their  ineffable  splendor  and  significance. 
How  overwhelming,  how  awe-inspiring  !  His  thought  goes 
like  a  lightning  flash  into  that  serene  abyss,  and  then  the 
veil  is  drawn  again." 

That  is  nature-study  star-gazing,  the  pleasures 
of  seeing,  simply  seeing  without  science,  so  far  as 
unaided  sight  will  extend,  but  because  the  eye  has 
the  aid  of  a  40-inch  refractor,  or  of  only  an  opera- 
glass,  it  does  not  for  a  moment  follow  that  there 
may  not  be  the  same  enjoyable  emotions.  The 
lens  does  not  make  science,  but  its  method  of  use 
does.  Nowadays,  no  plea  is  needed  for  the  use 
of  the  microscope  in  scientific  seeing.  In  the  bio- 
logical sciences  it  is  indispensable  and  universal, 
so  universal  that  I  fear  its  use  is  erroneously  re- 
garded as  necessarily  scientific.  But  the  micro- 
scope is  merely  an  instrument  for  aiding  the  sight. 
What  a  vast  amount  of  knowledge  comes  to  un- 
aided eyes  from  scientific  seeing.  But  even  this 
is  only  a  small  amount  in  comparison  with  the 
pleasure  that  comes  to  unaided  eyes  from  informal 
seeing,  the  nature-study  use  of  them.  Would  all 
your  informal  nature-study  seers  for  one  moment 
think  of  allowing  all  eyes  to  be  used  only  for  sys- 
tematic, scientific  seeing?  I  think  not,  most  de- 
cidedly not.     The  very  proposition  appeals  to  one, 


I32  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

not  as  an  argument  or  enticement,  but  as  an  ab- 
surdity. Equally  absurd  is  your  relinquishing  to 
the  scientists  all  use  of  the  microscope.  Just  about 
as  absurd  as  it  would  be  to  let  the  scientific  or- 
nithologist in  the  fields  have  the  sole  right  to  use 
opera-glasses.  You  recognize  their  value  to  him 
in  their  scientific  use,  but  you  are  not  willing  that 
he  should  monopolize  them.  You  rightly  continue 
their  use  for  pleasurable  seeing.  The  scientist 
derives  both  pleasure  and  scientific  knowledge 
from  their  employment.  Even  if  you  do  not  care 
for  the  science,  continue  their  use  for  the  pleasure. 
As  soon  abandon  the  gratification  of  unaided  see- 
ing, as  to  forego  the  pleasure  of  such  magnificent 
pictures  as  are  obtained  by  the  use  of  the  micro- 
scope. 

You  notice  the  attractive  foliage  and  graceful 
outlines  of  the  tree,  and  your  heart  is  warmed  by 
the  sight ;  it  dilates  in  appreciation  of  the  beauty, 
and,  if  you  rightly  consider  the  subject,  your  ex- 
perience increases  your  ability  to  observe  better 
at  the  next  trial.  As  was  previously  stated,  let 
there  be  but  some  defect  in  the  eyesight,  and  then 
how  we  strive  to  remedy  it.  The  clouds,  the 
trees,  the  green  grass,  the  variegated  flowers,  the 
birds,  familiar  forms  and  faces,  are  all  sealed  to 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  133 

the  blind,  but  you,  who  know  not  the  delights  of 
a  microscope,  are  suffering  from  exactly  the  same 
misfortune,  for  you,  too,  are  blind.  You  see  that 
tree  and  its  foliage,  but  the  microscopist  sees  the 
structure  of  the  mosses,  lichens,  and  tiny  algae 
that  ornament  the  trees.  You  exclaim  over  the 
scarlet  tanager  that  is  flitting  about  in  the  top- 
most branches.  What  a  pleasure  to  you  and 
what  a  loss  to  the  blind  man  !  But  the  microsco- 
pist says,  "  I  have  seen  the  wonderful  structure, 
and  learned  the  interesting  habits  of  the  aphides 
and  leaf  miners,"  although  his  use  of  the  micro- 
scope may  have  been  as  unskillful  as  your  use  of 
your  unaided  eyes.  You  have  lost  in  relation  to 
him  exactly  the  same  in  quality  if  not  in  quantity 
as  the  blind  man  has  lost  in  his  relation  to  you. 
Strange,  is  it  not,  that  so  many  are  microscopi- 
cally blind  ?  and  the  pitiable  phase  of  it  is,  that 
the  victims  are  ignorant  of  their  loss.  In  this 
sense,  the  use  of  high-power  lenses  and  of  showy 
instruments  is  not  a  guarantee  against  micro- 
scopical blindness.  Sometimes  "  the  heavens 
open  "  in  the  infinitely  near  world  after  years 
of  microscopical  skill.  But  that  is  another 
matter. 

What  I  would  especially  impress  upon  teach- 


134  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

ers,  are  the  pleasures  of  observing,  and  especially 
the  importance  of  observing  as  much  as  possible. 
If  you  have  missed  the  charms  of  even  a  pocket 
microscope,  you  have  to  that  extent  been  pitiably 
blind.  It  is  not,  as  too  often  believed,  the  loss  of 
a  certain  science  in  which  you  maintain  that  you 
are  not  interested,  and  which  you  do  not  care  to 
understand,  but  a  loss  of  pleasurable  seeing, 
which  you  can  only  appreciate  when  you  begin  to 
learn  what  you  have  been  for  so  long  losing. 
"  Having  eyes  yet  seeing  not :  "  telescopically 
and  microscopically  blind  to  all  but  a  small  part 
of  the  delights  of  "  both  great  and  small."  I  ex- 
tend to  you,  not  alms  in  your  blindness,  but  a 
sincere  appeal  for  a  self-cure.  Get  at  least  a  sim- 
ple pocket-microscope,  and  apply  it  as  persistently 
as  possible  to  seeing  eyes  that  they  may  see  more. 
Having  done  that,  see  some  more,  and  more. 
We  learn  to  see  by  intelligently  seeing,  not  by 
merely  looking. 

And  what  a  beautiful  world  is  this,  for  seeing 
things.  The  Infinite  does  not  know  how  to  make 
a  better.  He  pronounced  this  one  "  good."  He 
has  given  us  His  best.  Shall  we  be  lacking  in 
appreciation  through  indifference?  Let  us  see 
everything  possible  with  our  unaided  eyes,  and 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 35 

get  a  microscope  and  use  it  faithfully  that  we  may 
see  more,  and,  let  me  repeat,  still  more. 

Then,  when  you  have  faithfully  used  this  won- 
der-working instrument,  used  it  with  the  mental 
labor  and  diligence  demanded  for  well  doing  in 
anything  worth  doing  at  all,  used  it  in  freedom 
from  the  "  constitutional  weariness  "  so  common 
in  all  pursuits  except  that  of  money-getting,  then 
will  you  appreciate  what  Gosse,  a  pleasure-seeing 
as  well  as  scientific  microscopist,  has  affirmed  : — 

"  Great  and  gorgeous  as  is  the  display  of 
Divine  power  and  wisdom  in  the  things  that  are 
seen  of  all,  it  may  safely  be  affirmed  that  a  far  more 
extensive  prospect  of  these  glories  lay  unheeded 
and  unknown  till  the  optician's  art  revealed  it. 
Like  the  work  of  some  mighty  genie  of  Oriental 
fable,  the  brazen  tube  is  the  key  that  unlocks  a 
world  of  wonder  and  beauty  before  invisible, 
which  one  who  has  once  gazed  upon  it  can  never 
forget,  and  never  cease  to  admire." 


"  Nature  Study  aims  to  cultivate  in  the  child  what  may- 
be termed  the  elementary  equivalent  of  the  genuine  scien- 
tific spirit,  so  that  out  of  his  nature  fondness  for  things 
about  him  shall  come  an  enthusiastic,  truth-seeking,  rev- 
erent attitude  toward  nature,  with  boldness  to  question 
her,  patience  to  study  her,  and  readiness  to  be  taught  by 
her."— A.  C.  Boyden. 

"  As  the  child  understands  his  own  environment  he  is 
prepared  to  appreciate  geography  as  the  study  of  the  home 
of  man.  The  thoughts  of  the  life  throbbing  through  the 
plant  and  animal,  and  of  the  forces  at  work  about  us,  all 
in  perfect  harmony,  and  for  definite  purposes,  are  sug- 
gestions of  infinite  law."— A.  C.  Boyden. 

"  There  are  two  forms  of  Autumn  :  there  is  the  misty 
and  dreamy  autumn  :  there  is  the  vivid  and  brilliant 
autumn  :  almost  the  difference  between  the  two  sexes. 
The  very  word  autumn  is  both  masculine  and  feminine. 
Has  not  every  season,  in  some  fashion,  its  two  sexes?  Has 
it  not  its  minor  and  major  key,  its  two  sides  of  light  and 
shadow,  gentleness  and  force  perhaps.  All  that  is  perfect 
is  double  ;  each  face  has  two  profiles,  each  coin  two  sides. 
The  scarlet  autumn  stands  for  vigorous  activity  :  the  gray 
autumn  for  meditative  feeling.  The  one  is  expansive  and 
overflowing ;  the  other  still  and  withdrawn.  Yesterday 
our  thoughts  were  with  the  dead.  To-day  we  are  celebrat- 
ing the  vintage."— Amiei/s  Journal. 
136 


CHAPTER  XVI 

NATURE  STUDY  IN  THE  AUTUMN 

Special  prominence  should  be  given  to  nature 
study  in  the  last  two  weeks  of  September  and  all 
of  October.  Full-grown  plants,  flowers,  fruit,  and 
an  almost  infinite  variety  of  insects  may  be  ob- 
tained. The  four-footed  animals  are  busily  inter- 
esting. Aside  from  the  birds  (to  which  chief  atten- 
tion is  usually  given  in  May  and  June),  all  out- 
door interests  are  now  at  their  best. 

During  September,  the  schools  have  resumed 
their  usual  regularity  of  exercises ;  the  warm 
weather  still  continues,  with  a  clearness  of  air 
that  makes  one  grateful  for  the  pleasure  of  mere 
existence  ;  the  young  folks  retain  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  experiences  during  the  long  vacation,  and 
they  still  have  the  accumulated  wealth  of  outdoor 
spirits. 

By  way  of  contrast,  the  newness  and  awakening 

of  spring,  the  bursting  of  buds,  the  germination  of 

seeds,  the  growth  of  the  early  spring  flowers,  and 

the  coming  of  the  birds,  it  may  be   maintained, 

137 


I38  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

have  charms  and  •  advantages  excelling  those  of 
autumn  even  at  her  best.  It  must  be  admitted 
that  the  outdoor  attractions  of  spring  are  many, 
but  at  that  time  their  availability  is  somewhat  les- 
sened by  the  examinations,  the  approaching  end 
of  the  school  year  and  the  eager  anticipations  of 
the  long  vacation. 

It  is  easy  to  advance  arguments  for  the  superior- 
ity of  any  of  the  seasons  for  nature  interests.  They 
are  all  good,  all  best,  the  best  of  the  good  things 
of  life.  As  Sir  John  Lubbock  has  said  :  "  Happy, 
indeed,  is  the  naturalist ;  to  him  the  seasons  come 
round  like  old  friends  ;  to  him  the  birds  sing  as 
he  walks  along,  the  flowers  stretch  out  from  the 
hedges,  or  look  up  from  the  ground  ;  and  as  each 
year  fades  away,  he  looks  back  on  a  fresh  store  of 
happy  memories.  Every  month  has  its  own 
charms  and  beauty." 

But  taking  all  things  into  consideration,  it  seems 
to  me  that  after  a  short  time  for  the  readjust- 
ment of  the  affairs  of  the  schoolroom,  there  should 
be  at  least  six  weeks  for  rich  harvesting  of  out- 
door knowledge,  a  gathering  of  a  store  of  happy 
memories  for  the  coming  winter. 

How  attractive  now  is  everything  in  its  perfec- 
tion  of  life  and  beauty ;   how  exhilarating  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 39 

delicate  mingling  of  warmth  and  .cold,  the  sunshine 
and  the  showers  !  The  clear  day  holds  the  es- 
sence of  the  previous  rain  in  every  breeze.  As 
Dr.  Abbott  has  so  truly  expressed  it :  "  There  is 
a  beady  sparkle  in  every  breath  we  draw,  a  sane 
intoxication  in  every  lungful  of  the  October 
breeze  ....  There  is  never  a  lack  of  good 
company  when  October  sunshine  and  frosty 
autumn  winds  meet  upon  the  meadows.  He  who 
goes  there  at  such  a  time  with  a  clear  conscience, 
will  return  better  fitted  to  meet  all  of  life's  vexa- 
tions. For  the  old  man  it  is  a  cure  for  pessimistic 
thought ;  for  the  youth  it  is  a  safeguard  against 
distorted  views  of  life.  Nature  is  then  rejoicing, 
why  should  not  we  ?  " 

And  the  things  that  we  thoroughly  enjoy  in 
nature  reciprocate  in  benefits  to  us.  We  go  to 
her  with  our  best,  and  her  best  is  given  freely  to 
us.     "  Nature  is  loved  by  the  best  that  is  in  us." 


"  For  him  who  has  the  eye  to  see  it,  beauty,  like  thought, 
has  an  intrinsic  right  to  a  place  among  the  realities  of 
the  world.  He  who  demands  to  know  why  our  children 
should  be  trained  to  an  appreciation  of  the  beautiful  only 
proves  by  his  question  that  he  does  not  know  what  beauty 
is,  that  it  is  to  him  a  mere  name." 

"  In  order  to  perform  it,  the  school  must  rid  its  pupils  of 
what  Plato  called  the  lie  in  the  soul,  self-deception,  as  to 
the  ultimate  goods  of  life.  It  must  make  them  realize 
that  not  in  their  wealth,  not  in  their  social  position,  not 
in  their  reputation,  but  in  themselves  is  to  be  found  that 
which  makes  life  a  success  or  a  failure." 

"  Every  way  I  was  happy,  as  idler,  as  painter,  as  poet. 
Forgotten  impressions  of  childhood  and  youth  came  back 
to  me— all  those  indescribable  effects  wrought  by  color 
shadow,  sunlight,  green  hedges,  and  songs  of  birds  upon 
the  soul  just  opening  to  poetry.  I  became  again  young, 
wondering  and  simple,  as  candor  and  ignorance  are  simple. 
I  abandoned  myself  to  life  and  to  nature,  and  they  cradled 
me  with  an  infinite  gentleness.  To  open  one's  heart  in 
purity  to  this  ever  pure  nature,  to  allow  this  immortal  life 
of  things  to  penetrate  into  one's  soul,  is  at  the  same  time 
to  listen  to  the  voice  of  God.  Sensation  may  be  a  prayer, 
and  self-abandonment  an  act  of  devotion."  —  Amiel's 
Journal. 

140 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A  PLEA  FOR   WALKING 

In  our  outings  the  means  as  well  as  the  end 
has  value  ;  the  getting  there  as  well  as  the  things 
obtained  or  seen  or  studied.  Let  us,  then,  regard 
walking  as  a  nature-study  subject. 

Diversified  as  is  nature,  so  is  the  variety  of  her 
lovers'  devotion.  Her  every  phase  has  an  admirer, 
from  the  largest  to  the  smallest,  from  the  most 
conspicuous  to  the  least  noticed,  and  from  the 
most  beautiful  to  the  things  called  unattractive  by 
those  who  do  not  love  them. 

St.  Paul,  writing  of  spiritual  gifts,  says  : 

"  Now  there  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the 
same  spirit. 

"  And  there  are  differences  of  administrations, 
but  the  same  Lord. 

"  And  there  are  diversities  of  operations,  but  it  is 
the  same  God  which  worketh  all  in  all. 

"  But  the  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  is  given  to 
every  man  to  profit  withal.  .  .  . 

"  But  all  these  worketh  that  one  and  selfsame 

Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  severally  as  he  will." 
141 


142  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

So  in  all  the  diversities  of  interests  in  the  natural 
world  there  should  be  one  spirit,  that  of  walking. 
Indeed,  I  am  so  strongly  convinced  of  this  that  I 
sometimes  think  there  is  but  one  thing,  one  gift, 
the  ability  to  walk,  and  that  all  other  matters  are 
diversities  of  pretexts,  excuses  for  going  out  to 
walk. 

The  sportsman  carries  gun  and  game  bag  ;  the 
fisherman  fishing  rod  and  tackle  ;  the  naturalist 
camera  and  collecting  box ;  each  has  an  all-day's 
tramp  and  comes  home  with  but  little  to  show 
for  miles  of  walking.  Tired  out  ?  Discouraged  ? 
Regretting  the  trip?  Yes,  tired  out,  yes,  and 
tired  with  them,  but  not  of  them,  but  happy,  even 
jubilant,  and  with  full  determination  to  go  again 
as  soon  as  possible.  Was  that  one  squirrel,  one 
trout,  one  photograph,  one  specimen  worth  all  the 
time  and  labor  ?  If  it  was  not,  then  we  may  well 
expect  discouragement  and  regret.  But  these 
visible  trifles  were  only  souvenirs  of  the  real  thing, 
the  walk.  That  was  obtained  in  all  its  fullness,  and 
that  was  happiness  and  an  inspiration  for  another 
similar  journey.  Never  mind  the  little  excuses. 
Now  that  the  real  thing  has  been  obtained  in  such 
fullness,  the  excuses  are  forgotten. 

The   Rev.    Dallas   Lore   Sharp  is   delightfully 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  143 

confidential  and  candid  in  exposing  the  mycolo- 
gist's real  motif. 

"  And  the  collecting  of  mushrooms  is,  after  all, 
their  real  value.  Our  stomachs  are  too  much  with 
us.  It  is  well  enough  to  beguile  ourselves  with 
large  talk  of  rare  flavors,  high  per  cents  of  pro- 
teids,  and  small  butcher's  bills  ;  but  it  is  mostly 
talk.  It  gives  a  practical,  businesslike  complexion 
to  our  interest  and  excursions  ;  it  backs  up  our  ac- 
cusing consciences  at  the  silly  waste  of  time,  with 
a  show  of  thrift  and  economy  ;  but  here  mushroom 
economy  ends.  There  is  about  as  much  in  it  as 
there  is  of  cheese  in  the  moon.  No  doubt  tons 
and  tons  of  this  vegetable  meat  goto  waste  every 
day  in  the  woods  and  fields,  just  as  the  mycologists 
say  ;  nevertheless,  according  to  my  experience,  it  is 
safer  and  cheaper  to  board  at  a  first-class  hotel, 
than  in  the  wilderness  upon  this  manna,  bounty  of 
the  sky  though  it  be. 

"  It  is  the  hunt  for  mushrooms,  the  introduction 
through  their  door  into  a  new  and  wondrous  room 
of  the  out-of-doors,  that  makes  mycology  worthy 
and  moral.  The  genuine  lover  of  the  out-of-doors, 
having  filled  his  basket  with  fungi,  always  forces 
his  day's  gleanings  upon  the  least  resisting  mem- 
ber of  the  party  before  he  reaches  home,  while 


144  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

he  himself  feeds  upon  the  excitement  of  the  hunt, 
the  happy  mental  rest,  the  sunshine  of  the  fields, 
and  the  flavor  of  the  woods." 

The  more  I  observe  my  fellow  enthusiasts  in 
other  departments  of  nature  the  more  firmly  am 
I  convinced  that  this  assertion  applies  equally 
well  to  them,  and  in  full  force,  too. 

Go  on,  happy  mortal,  in  your  innocent  delusion. 
Dream  of  your  diatoms,  birds,  snakes  or  boulders. 
They  are  only  agents  to  entice  you  to  the  real 
thing,  walking  and  its  accompaniments.  It  is  the 
accompaniments  that  give  it  the  charm.  These 
are  not  the  minutiae  of  nature  magnified  into 
importance,  nor  yet  the  larger  interests  hampered 
within  the  folds  of  scientific  environments.  But 
you  will,  O  scientist,  artist,  photographer,  not  go 
into  the  fields  only  to  rake  up  the  straws,  but  to 
look  at  the  real  things.  Your  soul  will  and  does 
drink  in  the  influence  of  things.  You  will  walk 
in  this  paradise,  and  be  happy,  though  perhaps 
you  may  be  ignorant  of  the  reason. 

What  a  boon  is  walking  to  every  child  and 
youth.  It  is  not  only  in  our  infancy  that  heaven 
lies  about  us,  but  through  our  youth.  In  the 
merry  rambles  of  childhood,  we  get  near  to  this 
paradise.     It  may  be  that  later,  as  Colonel  Thomas 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  145 

Wentworth  Higginson  has  said,  "  We  strive  to 
picture  heaven,  when  we  are  barely  at  the  thresh- 
old of  the  inconceivable  beauty  of  earth."  If  so, 
it  is  then  that  a  walk  abroad  restores  us  to  the 
heaven  of  childhood  and  of  youth.  All  the  senses 
combine  to  suggest  and  restore  perpetual  youth. 
Walking  is  the  storing  of  priceless  wealth  for 
maturity  and  old  age.  It  is  the  link  connecting  with 
things  eternal,  not  the  eternal  things  promised  in 
some  distant  future,  but  the  eternal,  priceless 
things  of  the  present.  It  gives  health  of  body  and 
wealth  of  soul,  enjoyable  for  the  present  and  stored 
for  the  future. 

Walking  in  the  full  strength  of  maturity !  Is 
there  any  other  luxury  that  can  equal  it  ?  It  puts 
all  earth  beneath  us  and  heaven  around  and  above. 
No  toiling  horse  shall  drag  us,  no  freaky  bicycle 
claim  our  undivided  attention,  no  smoky  locomo- 
tive shall  pull  our  car,  rank  with  the  odor  of 
varnish,  except  when  we  cannot  have  what  nature 
intends  us  to  have,  the  glorious  privilege  of  walk- 
ing. Walking  brings  into  play  every  muscle.  It 
fills  the  lungs  with  pure  air  and  the  arteries  with 
rich  blood.  It  restores  us  to  ourselves.  It  gives 
independence.     We  do  as  we  please.     It  may  be 

to  saunter  leisurely  along  this  road,  to  climb  that 
10 


I46  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

fence  and  go  down  that  picturesque  path,  to  rest 
by  the  spring,  to  worship  in  the  forest,  to  hear 
the  music  of  the  brook,  to  discover  primeval  dells 
and  grottos,  these  are  some  of  the  rewards  of 
walking.  It  takes  us  to  scenes  that  no  vehicle 
can  reach ;  it  gives  us  wealth  which  no  money  can 
buy. 

"  Light-hearted  to  take  to  the  open  road," 

and  in  firm  strides  go  to  the  top  of  that  hill. 
There  we  look  across  the  valley.  And  Paradise 
lies  over  yonder  in  the  blue  distance.  We  rejoice 
in  the  possession  of  vast  territory  that  is  ours,  for 
the  mere  walking  to  it. 

And  so  we  walk  on  to  gain  the  riches  of  yonder 
forest,  and  still  farther  on.  But  even  the  best  is 
limited  in  extent,  yet  the  riches  of  the  territory 
to  be  obtained  by  walking  are  limitless.  We  find 
that  the  distant  place,  when  reached,  is  no  better 
than  that  we  have  left  behind.  We  learn  that 
the  actual  wealth  is  not  to  be  obtained  by  rapid 
walking  but  by  leisurely  sauntering,  by  making 
the  most  of  the  present.  Not  least  among  the 
values  of  walking  is  the  lesson  of  contentment.  It 
is  this  place,  this  day,  this  world  here  and  now, 
that  we  are  to  know,  and  in  which  we  are  so  to 


HOW   NATURE   STUDY   SHOULD   BE   TAUGHT    147 

live  that  it  may  become  to  us  a  paradise.  Even 
if  there  is  a  better  and  greater,  how  shall  we  com- 
prehend it  if  we  cannot  apprehend  this?  Let  us 
learn  to  walk  well  in  the  paradise  which  we  now 
possess.  Let  us  heed  the  great  Teacher  with 
whose  walks  were  interwoven  lessons  from  the 
fields,  whose  entire  ministry  was  peripatetic.  Let 
no  more  Beloved  Disciple  lament,  that  "  from  that 
time  many  of  his  disciples  went  back,  and  walked 
no  more  with  him."     But  rather, 

M  He  that  saith  he  abideth  in  him  ought  himself 
so  to  walk,  even  as  he  walked." 

"  Even  so  we  also  should  walk  in  newness  of 
life." 

Ever  new.  Ever  a  walker.  The  thought  of  the 
walk  spiritualizes  the  walk,  and  that  kind  of  walk 
spiritualizes  the  walker. 

And  every  nature-study  teacher,  every  nature- 
study  pupil  should  be  a  walker.  The  ability  to 
walk,  to  get  enjoyment  from  it  as  well  as  knowl- 
edge from  the  things  seen,  is  worth  more  to 
teacher  or  pupil  than  to  find  out  what  is  inside  of 
a  caterpillar,  or  how  many  rings  there  are  in  the 
abdomen  of  a  dragon-fly. 

OF  THE     ^ 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 

IFCHH\K 


"  Nature  Study  is  studying  nature,  in  its  own  environ- 
ment by  the  natural  method,  through  the  self-activity  of 
the  child. 

"  When  Nature  Study  is  directed,  as  by  our  teachers,  the 
child  is  impressed  with  the  fact  that  in  order  to  make  the 
knowledge  brought  to  him  through  the  senses  serve  him  in 
the  best  possible  way  he  must  train  himself  to  so  judge 
this  knowledge,  to  so  compare  it  and  to  so  arrange  it  in 
his  mind  as  to  be  ready  to  use  it  in  different  forms  of 
thought  expression,  drawing,  modelling,  speaking,  writing, 
or  to  turn  it  to  practical  account  in  the  affairs  of  his  life." 
— Mattie  Rose  Crawford,  author  of  "Guide  to  Nature 
Study." 

"  If  nature  is  to  be  a  resource  in  a  man's  life,  one's  re- 
lation to  her  must  not  be  too  exact  and  formal,  but  more 
that  of  a  lover  and  friend."— John  Burroughs. 

"It  is  one  of  the  laws  of  our  being  that  by  seeking 
interests  rather  than  by  seeking  pleasures  we  can  best 
encounter  the  gloom  of  life."— Lecky. 

I48 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

OUTINGS 

"  How  many  pupils  do  you  usually  take  with 
you  on  your  outings  ?  "  recently  inquired  a  school 
superintendent. 

"  I  most  usually  don't  take  any,"  was  my  reply. 

"  Don't  take  any  with  you ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"  Why,  I  thought  you  conducted  parties  of  school 
children  on  natural  history  excursions  ?  " 

"  So,  indeed,  I  do,"  I  replied ;  "  but  if  I  didn't 
have  a  love  of  nature  that  would  take  me  out  alone 
into  the  fields  and  forests  many,  many  times  to 
once  that  I  go  with  a  natural-history  party,  I 
am  confident  that  I  should  not  have  sufficient 
love  of  my  own  for  nature  to  inspire  any  of  it 
in  others." 

And  I  went  on  to  say  to  him,  as  I  now  say  to 
you,  that  you  cannot  give  to  others  what  you  your- 
self do  not  possess.  The  first  essential  is  to  get 
into  harmony  with  the  infinite,  into  loving  intimacy 
with  nature,  so  that  through  your  influence  a  re- 
sponsive chord  may  be  set  into  vibration  within 

149 


150  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

the  hearts  of  your  companions ;  or,  to  revere  to 
the  other  figure,  you  may  introduce  your  com- 
panions to  your  loving  Mother  Nature  when  you 
know  and  love  her  so  well  yourself  that  you  may  in 
the  introduction  transfer  some  of  that  knowledge 
and  affection  to  your  friends.  Therefore  you 
must  "  usually  "  go  alone ;  then  when  you  go  with 
others  you  will  have  something  genuine  to  transfer, 
and  not  merely  a  perfunctory  task  to  perform. 
Nature  should  be  so  resourceful  to  every  teacher 
of  nature  study,  that  he  could  go  and  live  with 
her  for  days  and  weeks,  until  the  longer  he  stayed 
the  longer  he  would  like  to  stay. 

A  superintendent  of  the  schools  in  one  of  the 
largest  cities  in  New  Jersey  said  to  me:  "  I  don't 
know  what  is  the  trouble  with  nature  study  in  our 
schools.  We  have  tried  it,  and  the  children  don't 
seem  to  be  much  interested  in  it.  We  devote 
fifteen  minutes  a  day  regularly  to  it,  and  I  often 
have  my  doubts  whether  it  is  worth  while  to  as- 
sign even  that  small  amount  of  time." 

I  was  puzzled. 

Later,  in  a  conversation  regarding  other  matters, 
lie  jokingly  referred  to  a  visit  which  some  of  the 
teachers  had  made  in  the  Adirondacks.  A  club 
went  up  there  to  stay  for  four  weeks.     They  came 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  151 

home  at  the  end  of  two,  reporting  that  it  was  the 
dullest  place  they  had  ever  seen. 

My  puzzle  was  solved. 

That  reminds  me  of  a  story  that  I  have  some- 
where read.  A  wealthy  business  man  had  sent 
his  wife  and  children  to  their  country  home.  He 
spent  the  week  in  the  city  at  his  business  office. 
One  day,  as  he  thought  of  the  inequalities  of  for- 
tune, he  said  to  himself, — "  Isn't  it  strange  that 
my  family  can  have  so  much,  when  there  are  so 
many  women  and  children  that  must  toil  all  the 
week  in  the  hot  city,  and  have  none  of  the  joys 
of  country  life.  If  I  were  the  ruler  of  the  universe, 
I  would  have  things  different.  Come  to  think  of 
it,  although  I  can't  rule  the  universe,  I  can  remedy 
a  part  of  this  injustice.  I  will  send  apart  of  these 
women  with  their  children  to  a  boarding-house 
near  my  own  country  home." 

So  he  had  his  secretary  make  the  arrangements, 
and  a  party  of  seven  washerwomen  and  twenty- 
three  children  were  sent  to  the  country.  Then  as 
the  man  toiled  at  his  desk,  he  was  the  happier, 
not  only  in  anticipating  his  own  weekly  visit  to 
the  country,  but  in  feeling  that  he  was  giving 
much  pleasure  to  those  thirty  poor  persons.  Im- 
agine his  amazement  when,  at  the  end  of  the  first 


152  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

week,  he  received  a  letter  from  the  country,  stating 
that  the  entire  company  had  deserted  and  returned 
to  the  city.  He  waited  for  no  secretary  to  trans- 
act this  business.  He  grabbed  hat  and  cane  and 
started  for  the  East  Side,  to  search  for,  and  find, 
too,  the  woman  who  had  been  prominent  in  or- 
ganizing the  party.  She  came  to  the  door,  wiping 
her  hands  on  her  apron.  He  inquired  as  to  the 
board,  the  location,  and  the  treatment  of  the  chil- 
dren. All  these  had  been  satisfactory.  Finally, 
almost  in  exasperation  he  said,  "  Tell  me,  madam, 
frankly,  why  did  you  come  home  ?  Doesn't  my 
kindness  to  you  merit  at  least  some  candor  on 
your  part  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  it  does ;  you're  a  good  man.  I  tell 
you,  sir,  we  all  came  home  because  there  was 
nothin'  doin' !  " 

I  have  read  of  a  similar  experience  on  the  part 
of  a  Boston  lady,  who,  upon  investigation,  found 
that  a  poor  woman  whom  she  had  sent  to  the 
country  had  come  home,  because  she  "  liked 
people  better  than  stumps  !  " 

And  yet,  absurd  as  are  these  excuses  from  these 
uncultured  persons,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  they 
have  far  too  many  followers  who  everlastingly 
want  to  be  where  there  is  "  somethin'  doin\"  or 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 53 

where  there  are  greater  aggregations  of  people, 

rather  than  in  the  land  of  stumps  and  trees,  fields 

and   brooks,  flowers  and  birds.     It    is  only  the 

greatest    teachers    and    poets,   and   the    greatest 

souls,  that  seek  the  wilderness  and  the  mountains, 

to  find  strength  and  comfort.     It  is  ever  true  that 

outdoor  life  must  be  a  pleasure  to  the  teacher 

first,  before  that  teacher  can  make  it  a  power  to 

benefit  others.     First  of  all,  then,  go  alone,  and 

make  it  to  yourself  what  you  would  have  it  be  to 

others. 

11  Nature  ever  yields  reward 
To  him  who  seeks,  and  loves  her  best." 

And  this  seeking  and  loving  must  be  done  in 
all  seasons,  and  in  the  rain  as  well  as  in  the  sun- 
shine. Nature  exists  in  the  winter,  in  the  snow 
storm  and  the  rain,  and  even  at  night.  Know 
nature ;  woo  her  even  under  difficulties  ;  you 
will  appreciate  her  all  the  more.  Take  the  young 
folks  with  you  to  find  and  admire  icicles  and  snow 
crusts  ;  do  not  look  for  daisies  and  scarlet  tana- 
gers  only.  Is  there  anything  more  beautiful  than 
the  lace-fringed  brook  in  winter? 

Lowell's  love  of  nature  was  not  limited  to  spring 
and  summer.     He  found  joy  in  the  winter: 

"  For  my  own  part,  I  think  Winter  a  pretty 


154  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

wide-awake  old  boy,  and  his  bluff  sincerity  and 
hearty  ways  are  more  congenial  to  my  mood,  and 
more  wholesome  forme  than  any  charms  of  which 
his  rivals  are  capable.  .  .  .  However,  when 
you  do  get  a  crust  that  will  bear,  and  know  any 
brooklet  that  runs  down  a  hillside,  be  sure  to  go 
and  take  a  look  at  him,  especially  if  your  crust  is 
due,  as  it  commonly  is,  to  a  cold  snap  following 
eagerly  on  a  thaw.  You  will  never  find  him  so 
cheerful.  As  he  shrank  away  after  the  last  thaw, 
he  built  for  himself  the  most  exquisite  caverns  of 
ice  to  run  through,  if  not  '  measureless  to  man  ' 
like  those  of  Alpha,  the  sacred  river,  yet  perhaps 
more  pleasing  for  their  narrowness  than  those  for 
their  grandeur.  What  a  cunning  silversmith  is 
Frost !  The  rarest  workmanship  of  Delhi  or 
Genoa  copies  him  but  clumsily  as  if  the  fingers 
of  all  other  artists  were  thumbs.  Fernwork  and 
lacework  and  filagree  in  endless  variety,  and  under 
it  all  the  water  tinkles  like  a  distant  guitar,  or 
drums  like  a  tambourine,  or  gurgles  like  the  tokay 
of  an  anchorite's  dream.  Beyond  doubt  there  is 
a  fairy  procession  marching  along  those  frail 
arcades  and  translucent  corridors." 

11  Their  oaten  pipes  blow  wondrous  shrill, 
The  hemlock  small  blow  clear." 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 55 

Then  what  infinite  variety  in  the  snow  crystals  ; 
what  marvelous  silky  beauty  in  the  blocks  of 
"  frost  coming  out  of  the  ground ;  "  what  delicate 
traceries  on  the  lower  side  of  the  ice  from  beneath 
which  the  water  has  dried  away ;  what  exquisite 
tapering  outlines  of  the  leafless  twigs  against  the 
background  of  the  cold,  blue  sky  ! 

Birds  now  are  to  be  observed,  but  they  do  not 
confuse  by  their  numbers.  Winter  birds  seem 
to  say,  We  are  worth  your  careful  study,  there- 
fore there  are  few  of  us. 

Go  frequently  to  the  winter  fields  and  woods, 
to  the  marshes,  and  into  the  mazes  of  the  swamps 
where  you  cannot  so  easily  go  in  summer ;  go  to 
see  things,  and  for  the  sake  of  long  walks ;  go 
alone  and  with  companions ;  in  sunshine  and  in 
storm  ;  go  with  that  elasticity  of  step,  that  joy  of 
heart  and  brightness  of  eye  that  only  winter  can 
produce. 

Then  go  again. 


"  For  many  years  it  has  been  one  of  my  most  constant 
regrets  that  no  schoolmaster  of  mine  had  a  knowledge  of 
natural  history,  so  far  at  least  as  to  have  taught  me  the 
grasses  that  grow  by  the  wayside,  and  the  little  winged 
and  wingless  neighbors  that  are  continually  meeting  me 
with  salutations  which  I  cannot  answer,  as  things  are. 
Why  did  not  somebody  teach  me  the  constellations,  too, 
and  make  me  at  home  in  the  starry  heavens  which  are 
always  overhead,  and  which  I  do  not  half  know  to  this 
day."— Thomas  Carlyle. 

"  The  true  naturalist  is  a  true  poet.  Into  his  mind  the 
influences  of  natural  scenery,  of  natural  history,  uncon- 
sciously sink  down.  There  is  an  unmentionable  bliss  in 
the  unrecognized  sympathy  which  goeth  forth  toward  all 
things  into  which  He  hath  breathed  the  breath  of  life. 
The  scent  of  the  opening  buds ;  the  sad,  soft  sighing  of 
summer  winds  ;  the  unobtruding  kaleidoscope  of  floral 
form  and  color,  scattered  so  freely  and  bountifully  ;  cannot 
these  get  hold  of  the  soul  of  a  man  !  One  feels  constrained 
to  adopt  the  language  of  the  principal  talker  among  the 
favorite  disciples — '  Lord,  let  us  build  three  tabernacles,' 
etc.  The  disciple  was  in  no  hurry  to  depart." — Dr.  J.  E. 
Taylor,  in  "  The  Playtime  Naturalist." 

156 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

GIVE  THE  YOUNG  OBSERVERS  A  CHOICE 

Nature  study  should  be  spontaneous  on  the 
part  of  the  pupil.  To  most  pupils  nature  study  is 
a  privilege  and  a  pleasure.  To  these  it  is  a  very 
simple  matter  to  make  it  a  tonic  and  not  a  task. 

But  the  problem  comes  when  we  regard  the  few 
who  do  not  regard  it  as  a  privilege  or  a  pleasure, 
and  the  few  larger  pupils  in  the  class  who,  per- 
chance, may  regard  the  bringing  in  of  specimens 
or  the  telling  about  them  as  "  kiddish  "  as  I  once 
heard  a  boy  express  it. 

If  there  is  a  certain  period  assigned  to  nature 
study,  shall  this  period  be  merely  one  of  laziness 
or  indifference  on  the  part  of  these  few?  That  is 
a  question  that  often  confronts  a  teacher.  Or 
shall  certain  pupils  be  allowed  to  hold  entirely 
aloof  from  the  informal  work,  even  if  there  is  not 
a  definite  nature-study  period  ? 

It  is  true  that  nature  study  should  be  a  pleasure, 
and  it  is  a  pleasure  to  most  pupils,  but  this  does 
not  annul  the  fact  that  it  should  be  required. 

157 


158  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

To  attain  both  ends,  I  have  found  it  convenient 
to  make  a  threefold  assignment,  from  which  a 
choice  may  be  taken  : 

1.  Bringing  in  a  specimen  and  telling  where  it 
was  obtained,  with  statement  of  any  interesting 
facts  connected  with  it. 

2.  A  story  of  entertaining  truths  that  I  have 
seen,  read  or  been  told,  about  natural  objects. 

3.  Assignment  of  some  topic  to  be  investi- 
gated from  books  or  other  sources  of  information. 
Thus,  for  example,  asbestos  has  been  for  the  past 
weeks  a  timely  topic,  because  it  has  been  referred 
to  so  frequently  in  the  newspapers  in  connection 
with  theater  curtains,  since  the  fire  that  caused  so 
great  a  loss  of  life  in  the  Chicago  theater.  Radium 
is  another  good  topic.  The  pupils  should  tell  what 
they  have  read  or  heard  regarding  this  wonderful 
metal.  The  teacher  corrects  any  wrong  impres- 
sions that  the  children  may  have  acquired,  and 
states  any  facts  of  interest  she  may  have  readily 
obtained  from  the  many  popular  articles  in  various 
periodicals. 

By  this  method  of  choice  in  nature-study  work 
or  interests,  the  pupils  have  no  odious  task  to  per- 
form, neither  is  the  period  one  of  shirking,  nor  an 
exhibition  of  laziness  on  the  part  of  a  few. 


CHAPTER  XX 

PROGRESS  BY  AVOIDING  REPETITION 
{Extracts  from  a  letter.) 

Whole  classes  are  taken  out  on  clear  days  to  the  woods, 
fields,  stream,  hillsides,  and  gorges  to  observe  and  enjoy 
Nature.  When  out  on  these  rambles  they  collect  various 
things  of  interest  and  bring  them  back  for  further  study. 

In  this  study  we  aim  to  connect  it  with  other  studies  in 
such  a  way  as  to  give  added  life  and  meaning  to  them. 
These  excursions,  wheat,  corn,  trees,  etc.,  are  made  the 
themes  for  compositions.  Thus  we  give  the  children  some- 
thing to  write  about  that  they  have  seen  and  experienced — 
the  only  theme  that  a  child  can  tell  of  intelligently.  Nature 
poems  are  learned  and  recited  in  connection  with  the  objects 
studied.  Nature  songs  are  sung  in  school.  These  composi- 
tions written  by  the  children  are  neatly  written  out  and 
kept  in  a  composition  book.  The  books  are  passed  on  from 
grade  to  grade  each  year,  so  that  each  teacher  may  know 
what  has  been  done  by  the  grade  she  has  during  previous 
years,  and  thus  avoid  repetition,  which  kills  interest.  This 
method  enables  us  to  progress  in  the  subject  from  grade  to 
grade. 

My  aim  is  to  teach  those  things  which  have  some  influence 
upon  our  lives  in  some  way  or  another.  Thus  we  study 
plants  and  animals  useful  to  man,  also  plants  and  animals 
which,  directly  or  indirectly,  are  a  detriment  to  man's  in- 
terests. 

The  aesthetical,  ethical,  and  religious  growth  comes  with 
contact,  but  is  not  directly  alluded  to,  for  preaching  kills. 
159 


l6o  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

My  aim  is  to  give  the  pupils  something  which  is  related  to 
their  own  lives  and  the  lives  of  others,  and  thus  make  them 
more  useful  men  and  women  in  after  years. 

Since  I  have  changed  my  plan  of  teaching  botany  from 
that  of  knowledge  for  the  sake  of  knowledge,  to  knowledge 
for  the  purpose  of  becoming  better  and  more  useful  in  the 
world,  I  find  that  the  pupils  have  a  new  interest  in  the  sub- 
ject. It  is  a  subject  now  with  meaning  and  purpose,  closely 
related  to  the  lives  of  the  pupils.  Formerly,  it  was  a  subject 
to  be  memorized  for  the  sole  purpose  of  passing  the  examina- 
tion. 

I  have  not  worked  out  my  ideas  fully  in  our  course  as  yet, 
but  have  progressed  far  enough  to  satisfy  myself  that  it  is 
better  than  the  old. 

Assuring  you  that  I  appreciate  your  interest  in  our  work, 
and  hoping  to  hear  from  you  again,  I  am,  with  kindest 
regards, 

Very  respectfully, 

V.  A.  Suydam, 
Principal  Public  Schools,  Ripon,  Wis. 

I  like  this  method  of  avoiding  repetition,  but  to 
accomplish  the  object  it  is  not  necessary  to  avoid 
using  the  same  subject.  Some  one  has  said  in 
substance  that  truth  is  like  an  ocean,  in  which  a 
child  may  play  or  an  elephant  easily  get  drowned. 
It  is  all  in  the  manner  of  using  it. 

The  director  of  the  zoological  department  of 
one  of  our  leading  universities,  once  had  a  student 
who  said  of  a  requirement  for  the  dissection  of  a 
grasshopper,  "  I  don't  want  to  do  that.  I  had 
that  in  the  kindergarten  !  "  That  is  what  one  may 
call  dilute  science  in  the  place  of  nature  stu^y. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  l6l 

And  yet  a  grasshopper  may  be  used  in  kinder- 
garten or  in  university  with  profit  and  without 
repetition. 

Said  Linnaeus  to  a  pupil,  as  he  laid  his  hand  on 
a  bit  of  moss  :  "Here  lies  sufficient  material  for 
the  study  of  a  lifetime."  Perhaps  some  of  us 
would  regard  that  remark  as  a  little  hyperbolic, 
but  if  taken  literally,  without  doubt  we  should 
all  agree  that  the  child's  relation  to  the  mosses  is 
entirely  different  from  that  of  the  expert  technical 
botanist.  I  suppose  that  it  is  the  avoidance  of 
repetition  of  relation  that  Principal  Suydam  has 
in  mind.  We  may  live  for  decades  in  the  same 
home,  but  the  point  of  view  changes  rapidly  and 

opens  up  new  vistas  as  years  go  by. 
II 


"  The  author  knows  by  experience,  both  on  the  farm  and 
in  the  schoolroom,  that  the  possession  of  a  better  knowl- 
edge of  nature  by  country  youths  is  one  of  the  crying  needs 
of  the  hour.  With  such  a  knowledge  generally  diffused 
there  would  be  less  dissatisfaction  with  country  life  and 
fewer  farmers'  sons  and  daughters  would  flock  to  the 
cities,  because,  as  a  recent  writer  expresses  it,  "  they  wish 
to  get  rid  of  the  prosy,  stunting,  isolated  life  on  the  farm." 
With  a  knowledge  of  some  of  nature's  objects  and  a  desire 
to  ferret  out  for  themselves  some  of  her  secrets,  they  would 
have  something  of  which  to  talk  and  think  besides  crops, 
stock,  work,  neighborhood  gossip  and  local  politics,  and 
the  attractions  of  the  city  would  seldom  excel  those  to 
be  found  on  the  old  homestead." — W.  S.  Blatchley,  in 
"  Gleanings  from  Nature." 

u  It  seems  as  if  the  day  was  not  wholly  profane  in  which 
we  have  given  heed  to  some  natural  object  .  .  .  He  who 
knows  the  most,  he  who  knows  what  sweets  and  virtues 
are  in  the  ground,  the  waters,  the  plants,  the  heavens,  and 
how  to  come  at  these  enchantments,  is  the  rich  and  royal 
man.  "—Emerson. 

l62 


CHAPTER   XXI 

NATURE  AND  LIFE 

Of  all  the  subjects  in  this  world,  there  is  noth- 
ing so  great  to  which  we  can  give  our  attention 
as  the  world  itself.  Offspring  of  nature  as  we 
are,  surrounded  on  every  hand  by  her  wonderful 
products  and  existences,  it  is  no  less  than  our 
duty  to  give  her  our  earliest  attention,  as  a 
powerful  factor  in  the  complete  development  of 
our  own  or  of  any  other  human  life. 

11  Nature  never  did  betray 
The  heart  that  loved  her  ;  'tis  her  privilege, 
Through  all  the  years  of  this,  our  life,  to  leap 
From  joy  to  joy  ;  for  she  can  so  inform 
The  mind  that  is  within  us,  so  impress 
With  quietness  and  beauty,  and  so  feed 
With  lofty  thoughts,  that  neither  evil  tongues, 
Rash  judgments,  nor  the  sneers  of  selfish  men, 
Nor  greetings  where  no  kindness  is,  nor  all 
The  dreary  intercourse  of  daily  life, 
Shall  e'er  prevail  against  us,  or  disturb 
Our  cheerful  faith,  that  all  which  we  behold 
Is  full  of  blessings." 

163 


*«  It  is  of  course  evident  that  a  scientific  interest  and  an 
aesthetic  interest  in  Nature  Study  are  widely  different 
things.  The  aesthetic  interest  is  the  result  of  the  appeal 
Nature  makes  to  our  sense  of  beauty  ;  the  scientific,  the 
result  of  the  appeal  she  makes  to  our  desire  to  know.  If, 
in  the  case  of  the  average  man,  we  had  to  choose  between 
them,  it  is  at  least  doubtful  whether  it  would  not  be  wise 
to  sacrifice  the  scientific  to  the  aesthetic  interest.  The  life 
of  the  average  man  is  probably  more  enriched  by  the  ca- 
pacity to  derive  pleasure  from  listening  to  the  knell  of  the 
parting  day,  from  watching  the  lowing  herd  as  it  winds 
slowly  over  the  meadow,  than  by  a  scientific  interest  in 
nature.  But  the  two  interests  are  in  no  wise  antagonistic. 
And  if  the  teacher  of  the  nature  subjects  be  herself  a  lover 
of  nature,  if  she  looks  upon  the  changes  that  pass  over  the 
face  of  nature  as  spring  blooms  into  summer,  and  summer 
fades  into  autumn,  and  autumn  gives  way  to  winter,  with 
something  of  the  same  fondness  with  which  the  mother 
watches  the  changes  in  her  child  as  she  traverses  the  road 
to  womanhood,  there  is  no  danger  that  the  aesthetic  inter- 
est of  her  pupils  will  suffer  through  a  development  of  their 
scientific  interest.  Not  only  will  the  bugs  and  grasshop- 
pers and  butterflies,  the  trees  and  the  leaves,  the  soil  and 
minerals,  claim  her  attention,  but  the  broad  valleys,  the 
gently  sloping  hills,  the  sycamores  bending  over  running 
streams  and,  as  it  were,  gravely  bowing  to  the  trees  on  the 
other  side  ;  and  her  enthusiastic  love  of  nature  will  be  as 
contagious  as  her  intense  interest  in  science." — Dr.  J.  P. 
Gordy,  in  *'  A  Broader  Elementary  Education." 
164 


CHAPTER  XXII 

BOOKS  AND  NATURE 

Indoor  studies  and  outdoor  studies,  are  they 
antagonistic  or  co-operative  ?  They  are  both, 
anomalous  as  it  may  seem.  The  same  is  true  in 
a  comparison  of  city  culture  and  country  culture. 
Sometimes  we  observe  the  antagonism  in  the 
same  person.  We  may  see  in  our  best  poets,  now 
the  praise  of  books  and  now  the  praise  of  nature. 
A  double  spirit,  a  mingling  in  one,  comparable  to 
the  mingling  of  the  good  and  the  bad  of  Steven- 
son's "  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde."  Wordsworth 
first  sounds  the  praises  of  books  : 

"  Yet  it  is  just 
That  here  in  memory  of  all  books  which  lay 
Their  sure  foundations  in  the  heart  of  man, 
Whether  by  native  prose,  or  numerous  verse, 
That  in  the  name  of  all  inspired  souls— 

******* 

'Tis  just  that  in  behalf  of  these,  the  works, 
And  of  the  men  that  framed  them,  whether  known 
Or  sleeping  nameless  in  their  scattered  graves, 
That  I  should  here  assert  their  rights,  attest 
Their  honors,  and  should,  once  for  all,  pronounce 
Their  benediction  ;  speak  of  them  as  Powers 
165 


l66  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Forever  to  be  hallowed,  only  less, 
For  what  we  are  and  what  we  may  become, 
Than  Nature's  self,  which  is  the  breath  of  God, 
Or  His  pure  Word,  by  miracle  revealed." 

Then  he  declaims  against  books  as  injurious: 

"  Up  !  up  !  my  Friend,  and  quit  your  books  ; 
Or  surely  you'll  grow  double  : 
Up  !  up  !  my  Friend,  and  clear  your  looks  ; 
Why  all  this  toil  and  trouble  ? 

"  Books  !  'tis  a  dull  and  endless  strife ; 
Come,  hear  the  woodland  linnet, 
How  sweet  his  music  !  on  my  life, 
There's  more  of  wisdom  in  it." 

This  double  view  is  likewise  shown  in  Lowell, 
whom  Stedman  styles  "  our  representative  man  of 
letters,"  and  adds,  that  "  He  is  regarded  as  a  fine 
exampler  of  culture."  Lowell,  though  "the  poet 
of  nature,"  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  books. 
His  writings  and  addresses  were  chiefly  on  liter- 
ary subjects.  Yet  in  a  burst  of  passion  for  nature, 
the  supremacy  of  a  great  surging  part  of  his  own 
character,  he  counts  books  and  literary  culture  as 
of  little  worth,  and  in  pleonastic  verse  makes 
them  for  the  time  shrink  into  nothingness  : 

"  Jes'  so  with  poets  :  wut  they've  airly  read 
Gits  kind  o'  worked  into  their  heart  an'  head, 
So  's  't  they  can't  seem  to  write  but  jest  on  sheers, 
With  f urrin  countries  or  played-out  ideers, 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  167 

Nor  hev  a  feelin',  ef  it  doosn't  smack 

O'  wut  some  critter  chose  to  feel  'way  back  ; 

This  makes  'em  talk  o'  daisies,  larks,  an'  things, 

Ez  though  we'd  nothin'  here  that  blows  and  sings, — 

(Why,  I'd  give  more  for  one  live  bobolink 

Than  a  square  mile  o'  larks  in  printer's  ink)." 

Books  and  Nature  are  antagonistic  and  yet  they 
are  co-operative.     As  Hamilton  Mabie  says: 

"  Since  I  turned  the  key  on  my  study  I  have 
almost  forgotten  the  familiar  titles  on  which  my 
eyes  rested  whenever  I  took  a  survey  of  my 
book-shelves.  Those  friends  staunch  and  true, 
with  whom  I  have  held  such  royal  fellowship 
when  skies  were  chill  and  winds  were  cold,  will 
not  forget  me,  nor  shall  I  become  unfaithful  to 
them.  I  have  gone  abroad  that  I  may  return 
later  with  renewed  zest  and  deeper  insight  to  my 
old  companionships.  Books  and  nature  are  never 
inimical ;  they  mutually  speak  for  and  interpret 
each  other ;  and  only  he  who  stands  where  their 
double  light  falls  sees  things  in  true  perspective 
and  in  right  relations." 

I  like  that  expression,  "  stands  where  the 
double  light  falls."  There  is  a  difference  between 
the  compound  light  and  the  extreme  colors  of 
the  spectrum.  One  needs  to  know  the  details  ;  to 
live  and  see,  in  the  combination.     The  poet  needs 


168  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

the  eye  of  the  naturalist  for  his  facts,  and  the 
naturalist  needs  "  the  light  that  was  never  on  sea 
or  land  "  for  his  life. 

The  quarry  is  antagonistic  to  the  castle.  The 
one  must  be  depleted  for  the  other.  Yet  both 
are  co-operative ;  the  first  is  useless  and  the  sec- 
ond impossible  without  the  other.  The  mine 
means  something,  it  has  its  real  value  and  beauty 
brought  out  only  in  the  hands  of  the  assayist. 
The  two  are  antagonistic,  yet  co-operative.  So 
you,  teacher,  must  not  merely  go  to  nature  for 
things,  things,  things,  nor  to  books  for  words, 
words,  words.  One  part  of  your  mental  make-up 
must  be  to  lay  hold  of  the  real  things  of  nature  ; 
the  other  must  be  to  let  in  the  illumination  of 
books.  Then  only  will  you  see  facts  in  their  true 
relations. 

Remember  always  that  the  result  is  not  to  be 
naturalists  and  scientists,  nor  yet  literati,  but 
living  men  and  women. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

"  HUSH  ALL  THE  CLASSES  AND   .    .    .   HUG  HIM  " 

He  has  a  secret ;  wonderful  methods  in  him  ;  he  is,  every 
child,  a  new  style  of  man  ;  give  him  time  and  opportunity. 
Talk  of  Columbus  and  Newton  !  I  tell  you  the  child  just 
born  in  yonder  hovel  is  the  beginning  of  a  revolution  as 
great  as  theirs.  But  you  must  have  the  believing  and  pro- 
phetic eye.  ...  If  a  child  happens  to  show  that  he 
knows  any  fact  about  astronomy,  or  plants,  or  birds,  or 
rocks,  or  history,  that  interests  him  and  you,  hush  all  the 
classes  and  encourage  him  to  tell  it  so  that  all  may  hear. 
Then  you  have  made  your  school-room  like  the  world.  Of 
course  you  will  insist  on  modesty  in  the  children,  and  respect 
to  their  teachers,  but  if  the  boy  stops  you  in  your  speech, 
cries  out  that  you  are  wrong  and  sets  you  right,  hug  him  ! 

And  you,  dear  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson,  how  all 
child  lovers  should  love  you  for  that  wise  state- 
ment !  You  have  practised  what  you  preach ; 
you  have  lived  true  to  that  other  loving  state- 
ment in  your  essay  on  "  Education,"  "  rather  let 
us  have  men  whose  manhood  is  only  the  continu- 
ation of  their  boyhood,  natural  characters  still." 
You  had  the  boy  nature  in  your  heart,  and  sym- 
pathy for  the  spontaneity  of  the  boy. 

"  Hush  all  the  classes,"  and  let  the  individual 
169 


170  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

child  tell  his  story  in  his  own  way.  Then,  in  that 
spirit,  even  if  he  disputes  you,  "  hug  him."  Know 
with  joy  and  love  that  you  are  educating,  actually 
leading  out  individuality,  not  "  minding"  a  series 
of  buzzing  spools  and  spindles  on  a  school  loom. 

A  few  weeks  ago  at  a  teacher's  institute,  in  a 
lecture  on  "  School  Discipline,"  a  fellow  instructor 
told  of  a  teacher  of  physiology,  who,  to  illustrate 
how  the  muscles  are  strengthened  by  use,  referred 
to  the  arm  of  the  blacksmith,  and  as  an  example, 
swung  her  right  arm  behind  her  back  and  over 
her  head  in  windmill  style  that  would  have  thrown 
a  blacksmith  into  convulsions  of  laughter. 

One  of  the  pupils,  who  was  a  frequent  visitor  at 
a  blacksmith's  shop,  was  an  interested  listener. 
The  reference  to  his  good  friend  made  his  eyes 
snap  and  his  heart  beat.  He  was  an  expert  in 
smithy  work.  He  knew  something,  and  he  knew 
that  somebody  was  wrong.  But  it  was  not  his 
blacksmithing  chum.  Up  went  his  hand  with  a 
confident  flourish. 

The  teacher  inquired,  "  Well,  what  is  wanted, 
now,  James?" 

The  little  fellow  replied,  "  Please,  ma'am,  I 
don't  think  the  blacksmith  swings  his  arm  in  that 
way.     Mr.  Johnson  doesn't,  anyhow ;  this  is  the 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT     171 

way  he  does,"  and  his  clenched  fist  flew  up  and 
down,  and  up  and  down,  and  banged  the  desk 
every  time  it  came  down,  and  did  it  gladly,  too. 

"  Well,  never  mind,"  said  the  teacher ;  "  we 
won't  talk  about  that ;  we  are  talking  about  physio- 
logy now.  We  will  consider  that  at  some  other 
time.  But,  James,  when  you  speak  you  should  not 
be  so  vehement,  and  your  gestures  should  not  be 
so  violent.     You  should  cultivate  repose,  James." 

I  was  amazed,  almost  stunned,  when  that  learned 
professor  of  pedagogy  commended  the  teacher's 
action,  as  an  excellent  example  of  adroitness  in 
avoiding  a  confession  of  ignorance,  and  of  her  skill 
in  thus  maintaining  discipline.  He  claimed  that 
if  she  had  admitted  her  error,  she  would,  to  a 
certain  extent,  have  allowed  the  school  to  get  the 
best  of  her,  and  would,  therefore,  have  lost  her 
dignified  hold  of  the  discipline. 

I  claimed  then,  and  I  claim  now,  that  it  was  a 
case  in  which  knowledge  was  snubbed  by  igno- 
rance, and  the  weak  oppressed  by  the  strong. 
Talk  about  losing  the  respect  of  her  little  men 
and  little  women  !  In  the  schoolroom,  as  in  the 
greater  world  of  which  it  is  an  epitome,  there  is 
nothing  more  repugnant  than  deceit,  hypocrisy,  or 
unfairness. 


172  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Had  that  teacher  at  once  accepted  the  correc- 
tion, with  a  few  words  expressing  pleasure  at  the 
little  fellow's  power  of  observation  in  a  field  in 
which  no  one  could  expect  her  to  be  so  well  in- 
formed as  the  daily  visitor  to  the  blacksmith's 
shop,  she  would  have  gratified  the  boy  and  have 
won  the  good  will  and  respect  of  all  the  little 
folks.  Can  you  not  see  them  all  looking  at  James, 
and  then  at  the  teacher,  with  a  pleased  expression 
that  says,  "  I  wish  I  could  have  done  that,  told 
my  teacher  something  she  didn't  know  and  got 
such  a  pleasant  answer." 

And  then  James ;  see  him.  How  his  eyes 
glisten  with  pleasure,  but  how  embarrassed  he  is, 
and  how  he  wriggles  in  his  seat  !  It  is  so  much 
good  fortune,  and  it  came  so  suddenly  that  it  is 
almost  uncomfortable.  He  is  in  haste  to  get 
home  to  tell  about  it ;  and  eager,  too,  to  see 
something  else  and  tell  his  teacher,  and  so  are  the 
others. 

But  stop,  we  are  dreaming,  this  was  not  the 
real  situation  commended  by  that  professor  of 
pedagogy.  Drag  yourselves  back  from  the  Utopia 
to  the  real  thing.  Look  at  the  quick  glances  of 
the  class  as  at  a  culprit ;  look  at  the  assumed 
dignity   on  that   teacher's   face.     Oh,   James,    I 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  173 

want  to  hug  you ;  and  you,  too,  dear  champion, 
Emerson,  for  you  are  right  when  you  say : 

I  believe  that  our  own  experience  instructs  us  that  the 
secret  of  Education  lies  in  respecting  the  pupil.  It  is  not 
for  you  to  choose  what  he  shall  know,  what  he  shall  do.  It 
is  chosen  and  foreordained,  and  he  only  holds  the  key  to  his 
own  secret.  By  your  tampering  and  thwarting  and  too 
much  governing  he  may  be  hindered  from  his  end  and  kept 
out  of  his  own.  Respect  the  child.  Wait  and  see  the  new 
product  of  Nature.  Nature  loves  analogies,  but  not  repeti- 
tions. Respect  the  child.  .  .  .  One  burns  to  tell  the 
new  fact,  the  other  burns  to  hear  it. 

The  spirit  of  hushing  the  class  to  allow  the 
child  to  speak,  and  of  loving  that  child  for  what 
he  tells  of  his  own  experiences  and  observation, 
is  the  spirit  of  nature  study. 

The  dignity  of  that  teacher,  the  unswerving 
class  instruction,  the  claim  that  this  is  true  be- 
cause I  say  it  is  true,  whether  we  call  it  science 
or  whether  we  call  it  hypocrisy,  is  not  the  spirit 
needed  to  bring  young  folks  into  relation  with  na- 
ture. I  do  not  state,  nor  even  imply,  that  most  of 
our  teachers  have  this  method  of  teaching  what 
they  term  elementary  science.  Many  excellent 
instructors  in  what  they  call  science  have  the 
spiritual  insight  that  I  have  styled  the  spirit 
of  nature  study.  It  is  a  commendable  and  en- 
viable  faculty,   with    which    some  of  us,  I  fear, 


174  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

have  no  speaking  acquaintance.  You  must  have, 
in  justice  to  the  little  folks,  the  nature-study 
faculty,  even  if  you  do  call  it  the  teaching  of 
science. 

Call  it  what  you  will.  If  you  are  contending 
for  class  instruction,  with  a  mass  of  facts  presented 
according  to  schedule,  and  are  ignoring  individual 
interests,  then  out  on  such  teaching.  There  is 
plenty  of  time  in  high  school  and  college  for 
facts,  facts,  facts,  and  science,  science,  science; 
banish  them  from  the  young  folks'  schools. 

As  Professor  Hodge  so  truly  puts  it  : 

Recent  developments  of  the  sciences  have  completely 
dazzled  our  modern  education  with  their  bewildering 
array  of  newly-discovered  facts,  and  the  temptation  has 
proved  irresistible  to  introduce  their  technicalities  into 
the  elementary  curriculum.  But  the  childhood  of  the 
race  was  very  long,  and  we  should  not  wish  to  force  its  per- 
iod, brief  at  best,  in  the  life  of  the  individual.  The  weath- 
ering of  rock  and  the  formation  of  soil  afford  interesting 
lessons  in  modern  geology  ;  but  men  dug  and  planted,  and 
established  fruitful  relations  with  Mother  Earth  thousands 
of  years  before  geology  was  even  dreamed  of.  So  with 
combustion  and  the  various  forms  of  water  :  why  not  let 
children  wonder  about  them  for  a  few  years,  and  then  come 
with  interest  keen  and  fresh  to  their  study  in  the  chemistry 
and  physics  of  the  high  school  and  college. 

I  heartily  agree  with  this.  Do  not  introduce 
technicalities  into  the  elementary  curriculum. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  175 

But  do  put  in  generous  proportions  of  viewing 
nature  that  will  "  hush  all  the  class  and  encourage 
him  to  tell  it  so  that  all  may  hear."  Then,  if  you 
have  the  right  spirit,  you  will  want  to  "  hug  him," 
that  bright  little  James. 

That  is  the  thing  needed  in  the  schoolroom  ; 
you  may  call  it  anything  you  please.  I  call  it 
nature  study  "from  the  child's  standpoint." 

By  the  way,  Thoreau  said,  "  There  is  something 
of  spring  in  all  seasons."  There  should  be  some- 
thing of  the  nature-study  spirit  in  all  school  ex- 
ercises, very  frequently  so  "  from  the  child's 
standpoint." 


"  All  that  is  needed  to  give  the  child  an  impulse  to  talk 
is  to  fill  his  mind  with  facts  that  interest  him.  You  may 
indeed  by  discipline,  or  by  appeals  to  emulation  or  to  the 
child's  desire  to  please,  create  an  artificial  motive.  But 
discipline  which  does  not  strengthen  a  natural  impulse  to 
action,  appeals  to  emulation  or  to  the  desire  to  please  for 
the  sake  of  making  a  pupil  do  what  he  has  no  inclination 
to  do  at  all,  is  perverted.  What  a  child  does  under  such 
influences  is  always  done  in  a  half  hearted,  perfunctory 
way." 

"  The  value  of  work,  however,  should  not  be  measured 
by  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  or  the  power  to  express  it, 
but  rather  by  the  love  and  the  sympathetic  interest 
awakened  in  nature  and  the  profound  reverence  for  the 
design  and  the  protecting  care  revealed  in  the  works  of 
earth  and  sky  by  an  all-wise  Creator."— Anna  E.  Mo 
Govern,  B.  S.,  in  "  Nature  Study  and  Related  Litera- 
ture." 

176 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

WOVEN  INTO   CHILD  NATURE 

"Is  this  Mrs.  Durant?"  inquired  a  caller,  ris- 
ing as  the  lady  of  the  house  entered  the  drawing- 
room. 

"  Yes,  and  you  are  Miss  Plimpton,  my  Dorothy's 
teacher.  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  I  should  have 
known  you  at  once,  even  if  you  had  not  sent  up 
your  card,  and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  this  is  the 
first  time  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you.'' 

"  How  is  that  ?  "  surprisingly  inquired  the 
teacher.  "  I  feel  as  though  I  were  a  perfect  stran- 
ger, except  to  my  boarding-mistress  and  the  little 
folks  in  school.  I  have  been  so  busy  that  this  is 
my  first  call  in  Van  Wert,  but  I  have  been  here 
only  three  weeks." 

"  Let  me  explain  that  perhaps  you  haven't 
known  just  what  you  have  been  doing.  I  see 
that  you  are  not  aware  that  you  have  been  call- 
ing on  about  forty  families  every  day  ;  that  is, 
if  all  your  pupils  are  like  my  little  Dorothy.  It 
is  in  this  way  that  you  multiply  yourself.  Dor- 
12  177 


178  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

othy  plays  keeping  school,  and  morning,  noon, 
and  night  we  are  served  with  Miss  Plimpton  in 
voice,  in  walk  and  even  in  every  little  action.  So 
you  see  I  am  well  acquainted.  I  recognized  and 
welcomed  your  voice  and  manner  as  of  at  least 
three  weeks'  acquaintance." 

There  are  good  contagions  and  "  catchings  "  of 
good  things,  as  well  as  of  bad  things  and  diseases, 
in  the  life  of  every  child.  We  quarantine  from 
the  bad,  but  too  often,  I  fear,  forget  to  supply  the 
good.  That  supply  should  come  from  various 
sources,  nature,  associates,  books,  playthings,  and 
the  greatest  of  these  is  nature.  Mother  Nature  is 
truly  loved  by  the  best  that  is  in  us,  and  never 
did  she  betray  the  heart  that  loved  her.  Let  us 
weave  her  in  large  proportions  into  the  heart,  head, 
and  muscles  of  the  child. 

The  ingredients  of  child-life  are  fresh  air,  sun- 
shine, trees,  flowers,  birds,  and  all  the  other  happy 
life  of  the  fields  and  forests.  Weave  in  generous 
proportions.  Do  not  skimp  and  carve,  and  trim, 
and  minimize,  and  scrutinize  too  much.  Pour  in 
the  generous  cupfuls,  hours  rather  than  minutes. 
The  strength,  the  happiness,  the  life,  all  are  good. 
You  appreciate  them  and  the  child  needs  them. 
Let  him  have  them  in  their  fullness  of  enjoyment. 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 79 

You  will  cordially  welcome  and  recognize  the  in- 
gredients. They  transform  the  whole  make-up. 
There  are  the  strength,  the  joy,  the  beauty,  the 
purity. 


"  Culture  consists  less  in  wide  knowledge  than  in  wider 
sympathy  ;  not  so  much  in  stores  of  facts  as  in  ability  to 
transmute  facts  into  knowledge  ;  not  only  in  well-grounded 
conviction,  but  in  toleration  ;  not  alone  in  absorption  of 
wisdom,  but  as  well  in  its  radiation ;  in  patriotism  that 
is  without  provincialism  ;  in  the  development  of  character. 
But  since  individual  minds  differ  much  in  their  composition, 
no  one  kind  of  treatment  can  be  best  for  all,  and  the  ideal 
system  will  be  that  which  is  elastic  enough  to  allow  each 
to  receive  what  is  best  for  it.  True  culture,  then,  cannot 
be  obtained  by  forcing  all  minds  into  any  one  mould,  how- 
ever carefully  that  may  be  made,  but  it  is  rather  attained 
by  allowing  each  mind  to  expand  for  itself  under  a  proper 
combination  of  nourishment  from  within  and  stimulus 
from  without."— William  F.  Ganong,  Ph.  D.,  in  "The 
Teaching  Botanist." 

"Nature  Study  should  appeal  to  the  imagination;  the 
artist  and  the  poet  should  be  called  upon  to  help  the  child 
interpret  the  beautiful."— A.  C.  Boyden. 
180 


CHAPTER  XXV 

SOME  TESTS  OF  PROFICIENCY  IN  NATURE  STUDY 

How  shall  we  make  these  tests?  The  require- 
ments are  too  intangible  for  measurement  by  the 
usual  method.  It  is  not  so  much  "  What  do  you 
know  ?  "  as  "  What  do  you  appreciate  ?  "  Not  so 
much  the  amount  and  detail  of  acquired  informa- 
tion, as  it  is  the  extent  of  your  ability  and  willing- 
ness to  continue  to  acquire. 

From  the  pupil's  standpoint,  the  following 
model  series  of  test  questions,  with  answers,  that 
merit  high  grading,  has  been  given  us  by  Principal 
Gowing  of  the  Rhode  Island  normal  school : 

Question. — Do  you  enjoy  going  on  rambles 
across  the  fields,  through  the  woods  and  down  the 
ravines  to  the  meadows  and  swamps? 

Answer. — Yes,  sir. 

Question. — Do  you  like  to  pick  the  flowers,  hear 
the  birds  sing,  and  watch  all  forms  of  life  ? 

Answer. — Yes,  sir. 

Question. — Do  you  select  from  the  library  and 
1*1 


1 82  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

read  outdoor  books  that  tell  of  nature's  interesting 
plants  and  animal  life  ? 

Answer. — Yes,  sir. 

Teacher. — Marking,  ioo. 

Then,  too,  there  is  an  important  observational, 
as  well  as  a  questioning,  examination.  The  enthu- 
siastic teacher  will  find  it  a  pleasure  to  note  the 
effects  of  nature  study  on  the  life  and  character 
of  the  pupils.  If  nature  study  gives  pleasure  for 
the  time  being  only,  it  is  still  good  ;  but  if  wisely 
and  patiently  done,  it  will  surely  refine  the  mind 
and  open  out  avenues  for  active  sympathy  and 
helpfulness,  and  so  uplift  those  who  do  not,  at 
first  hand,  know  anything  of  the  teaching  and  re- 
fining spirit  that  Mother  Nature  imparts  to  those 
who  communicate  with  her. 

Tests  for  these  results  should  be  made,  but  they 
are  not  to  be  found  easily  in  written  monthly  ex- 
aminations. They  will  show  themselves  in  little 
acts  that  may  escape  the  notice  of  some  teachers. 
Watch  for  these  little  evidences.  They  are  among 
the  most  important  tests  of  the  proficiency  of 
your  pupils  in  nature  study. 

So  much  for  the  pupil.  Now  what  shall  be  the 
test  of  the  teacher  ?  The  writer  suggests  the  fol- 
lowing questions,  not  to  be  asked  by  others,  but 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 83 

as  beneficial  for  self-examination.  A  conscientious 
teacher  is  her  own  best  critic.  Every  one  desires 
success,  but  success  depends  on  fitness.  If  you 
are  not  achieving  the  results  that  you  desire  in 
nature  study,  look  carefully  for  the  causes.  If 
you  cannot  mark  at  least  "  fifty  per  cent."  on 
these  test  questions,  and  cannot  soon  bring 
them  to  a  higher  mark  through  your  own  efforts, 
then  beg  the  principal  to  allow  you  to  exchange 
duties  with  some  other  teacher  who  can  lead  your 
pupils  in  nature  study.  Adaptation  and  enthu- 
siasm are  keynotes  to  success.  One  hundred  per 
cent,  of  teaching  ability  in  science  strongly  im- 
plies, but  does  not  guarantee,  an  equal  grading  in 
nature  study. 

Here  are  a  few  of  the  useful  questions.  They 
will  suggest  others  adapted  to  special  cases  : 

1.  If  I  were  to  leave  teaching  and  take  up 
other  duties,  such  as  those  of  married  life,  for  ex- 
ample, how  much  time  each  day  would  I  devote 
or  wish  to  devote  to  an  increasing  acquaintance 
with  nature  ? 

2.  Do  I  regard  the  time  devoted  to  nature 
study  as  a  recreation,  a  duty,  or  a  burden  ? 

3.  How  much  time  each  day  do  I  devote  to 
observing  or  reading  about  facts  in  nature  that  I 


184  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

never  intend  to  make  use  of  in  the  schoolroom  ? 
That  is,  how  much  of  my  nature-study  work  is 
personal  and  how  much  utilitarian  ? 

4.  How  long  could  I  visit  at  an  isolated  home 
in  the  country,  or  at  the  seaside,  and  not  find  life 
a  burden  ? 

There  is  no  element  of  injustice  in  question  I, 
as  it  may  at  first  suggest.  The  right  kind  of 
nature  study  in  its  continuance  under  varied 
circumstances  and  vocations  is  not  comparable  to 
science,  mathematics,  or  classics,  but  to  music, 
poetry,  general  literature,  and  art.  It  should  be 
a  favorite  avocation  as  well  as  vocation,  a  pursuit 
that  recreates. 

Now  for  a  test  as  to  the  amount  of  nature  study 
in  a  school. 

1.  After  eliminating  every  method  of  viewing 
natural  objects  to  which  the  term  science  may  not 
be  inappropriately  applied,  how  much  remains? 

2.  Without  in  the  least  detracting  from  the 
merits  and  advisability  of  correlating  other  school 
interests  with  nature  study,  take  away  all  studies 
so  correlated,  and  how  large  a  nature  study  nucleus 
remains? 

3.  A  country  boy  out  of  the  schoolroom  gets  a 
vast  amount  of  nature  study,   but  very  little  of 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  I 85 

science.  Especially  applicable  to  him  is  Emerson's 
saying  that  u  The  most  important  part  of  a  boy's 
education  is  that  which  he  gets  to  and  from  his 
way  to  school."  How  much  of  such  country  boy's 
relation  to  natural  objects  is  there  in  my  school  ? 

Such  questions,  it  seems  to  the  writer,  will  be 
found  helpful  in  bringing  out  the  exact  state  of 
affairs  in  this  informal  acquaintance  with  nature 
as  separated  from  exact  systematic  science  yet  per- 
haps leading  to  it.  As  nature  study  should  lead 
to  science,  perhaps  the  best  single  question  to 
pupil,  school,  or  teacher  is,  M  How  much  science 
does  our  nature  study  inspire?  " 

Or,  from  a  more  practical  out-of-the-schoolroom 
standpoint,  how  much  has  your  nature  study  led 
"  to  the  end,"  as  Professor  Hodge  has  so  admirably 
expressed  it,  "  of  doing  those  things  that  make  life 
most  worth  the  living  ?  " 


"  The  teacher  who  hopes  to  guide  her  pupils  wisely  will 
find  it  advisable  to  go  directly  to  nature  for  inspiration  ; 
she  must  learn  to  know  and  to  love  the  birds,  the  flowers, 
and  the  trees,  if  she  hopes  to  lead  her  pupils  to  know  and 
to  love  them  ;  she  must  learn  to  observe  in  order  to  direct 
and  test  the  observation  of  her  pupils.  After  having 
studied,  sketched  and  written  descriptions  of  a  few  typical 
plants  and  animals  and  verified  the  descriptions  by  ref- 
erence to  good  text  books,  a  teacher  will  begin  to  realize 
something  of  the  enjoyment  in  store  for  her  pupils." — Anna 
E.  McGovern,  B.  S.,  in  "  Nature  Study  and  Related  Litera- 
ture." 

The  writer  was  once  a  boy  himself,  and  vividly  remem- 
bers the  never-to-be-forgotten  rambles  and  observations  of 
the  objects  in  the  country  ;  and  moreover,  as  he  treasures 
up  such  reminiscences  as  the  most  pleasant  and  innocent 
of  an  active  man's  life,  he  thought  he  could  not  do  better 
than  enlist  this  younger  generation  in  the  same  loves  and 
the  same  pleasures.  He  has  endeavored  to  do  his  best  for 
his  human  hobbies,  and  hopes  their  lives  may  be  richer 
and  sweeter  and  more  manly,  for  what  he  has  introduced 
them  to  in  this  book. 

1 86 


CHAPTER   XXVI 

INSPIRATIONS   OF  NATURE   STUDY 

In  an  opera-house  in  Clearfield,  Pennsylvania, 
it  was  my  pleasure  and  honor  to  occupy  an  easy 
chair  on  the  stage  and  near  the  orator  of  the 
evening.  How  much  I  enjoyed  that  lecture,  how 
I  forgot  opera-house,  stage,  easy-chair,  everything 
except  the  speaker's  eloquence  and  the  pleasure 
of  following  his  inspiring  and  virile  thought,  I 
cannot  well  describe.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
memorable  occasion,  and  I  shall  always  remember 
the  eloquent  speaker's  peroration.  He  was  eulo- 
gizing the  earth  as  an  inspiration  to  any  world 
that  may  succeed  this  one.  His  concluding 
words  were  those  of  the  following  beautiful  poem 
by  M.  F.  Butts  : 

a  white:  water-uly. 

"  O  star  on  the  breast  of  the  river, 

O  marvel  of  bloom  and  grace, 
Did  you  fall  straight  down  from  heaven, 

Out  of  the  sweetest  place  ? 
You  are  white  as  the  thoughts  of  an  angel ; 

187 


188  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

Your  heart  is  steeped  in  the  sun  ; 
Did  you  grow  in  the  golden  city, 
My  pure  and  radiant  one? " 

"  Nay,  nay,  I  fell  not  out  of  heaven  ; 

None  gave  me  my  saintly  white  ; 
It  slowly  grew  from  the  blackness 

Down  in  the  dreary  night. 
From  the  ooze  of  the  muddy  river 

I  won  my  glory  and  grace. 
White  souls  fall  not,  O  my  poet ! 

They  rise  to  the  sweetest  place." 

When  the  same  speaker  later  invited  me  to 
write  an  article  on  some  phase  of  nature  study  for 
his  biennial  Report  of  the  Fish  and  Game  Com- 
mission, I  at  once  thought  of  his  eloquent  and 
impressive  lecture,  and  with  that  as  an  incentive, 
as  it  has  been  during  all  these  years,  I  have  taken 
"  Inspirations  of  Nature  Study  "  as  my  subject. 

And  I  assume  the  risk  of  seeming  egotistical 
when  I  say  that  under  this  title  I  think  can  be 
properly  portrayed  the  real  aim  of  fish  and 
game  interests,  for  this  title  represents  the  vital 
substance  of  his  entire  report  more  truly  than 
what  he  really  spoke  at  the  time.  Fish  and 
game !  Why,  the  people  for  the  most  part  care 
nothing  for  a  fishing  rod  nor  a  ramrod,  nor  for 
the  fish  and  game  neither.  They  seek  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  woods.     They  are  a  lot  of  commend- 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  1 89 

able,  excusable,  harmless,  admirable  hypocrites, 
although  they  don't  know  it  or  refuse  to  acknowl- 
edge it,  or  do  so  only  with  what  Brer  Rabbit 
calls  "  a  spell  of  the  dry  grins."  , 

General  Sweeney's  constituents  nominally  seek 
for  a  few  pounds  of  fish  and  game,  but  in  reality 
they  go  for  the  rest  and  the  refreshment  of  nature. 
What  a  delicious  lot  of  hypocrites  are  all  these 
so  called  lovers-of-out-doors.  They  beneficially 
delude  themselves.  They  are  all  in  the  same 
family,  brothers  and  sisters  with  the  mycologists 
whom  Dallas  Lore  Sharp  thus  describes : 

"And  the  collecting  of  mushrooms  is,  after  all, 
their  real  value.  Our  stomachs  are  too  much 
with  us.  It  is  well  enough  to  beguile  ourselves 
with  large  talk  of  rare  flavors,  high  per  cents  of 
proteids,  and  small  butcher's  bills ;  but  it  is 
mostly  talk.  It  gives  a  practical,  business-like 
complexion  to  our  interest  and  excursions  ;  it  backs 
up  our  accusing  consciences  at  the  silly  waste 
of  time  with  a  show  of  thrift  and  economy;  but 
here  mushroom  economy  ends.  There  is  about  as 
much  in  it  as  there  is  of  cheese  in  the  moon.  No 
doubt  tons  and  tons  of  this  vegetable  meat  go  to 
waste  every  day  in  the  woods  and  fields,  just  as 
the  mycologists  say ;  nevertheless,  according  to 


I90  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

my  experience,  it  is  safer  and  cheaper  to  board  at 
a  first-class  hotel  than  in  the  wilderness  upon  this 
manna,  bounty  of  the  skies  though  it  be. 

It  is  the  hunt  for  mushrooms,  the  introduction 
through  their  door  into  a  new  and  wondrous 
room  of  the  out-of-doors,  that  makes  mycology 
worthy  and  moral.  The  genuine  lover  of  the 
out-of-doors,  having  filled  his  basket  with  fungi, 
always  forces  his  day's  gleanings  upon  the  least 
resisting  member  of  the  party  before  he  reaches 
home,  while  he  himself  feeds  upon  the  excitement 
of  the  hunt,  the  happy  mental  rest,  the  sunshine 
of  the  fields,  and  the  flavor  of  the  woods." 

Consciously  or  unconsciously  to  us  the  woods 
and  fields,  the  meadows  and  ravines  are  calling  us 
to  our  own.  They  are  inspiring  us  to  seek  a 
higher  life.     They  want  us  to  be  like  them. 

11  We  are  what  suns  and  winds  and  waters  make  us ; 
The  mountains  are  our  sponsors,  and  the  rills 
Fashion  and  win  their  nursling  with  their  smiles." 

And  how  readily  comes  the  response  in  a 
language  varied,  but  always  signifying  the  same 
thing.  As  Thoreau  has  expressed  it,  "  I  would 
be  as  pure  as  ye,  O  woods !  "  They  are  as  nature 
originally  makes  them  or  as  she  later  fashions, 
cuts   and   trims    them.     This    may   be   through 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  191 

icthyology,  ornithology,  botany,  geology,  photog- 
raphy, art  or  poetry.  Like  the  spokes  of  the 
wheel  held  in  by  the  tire,  all  pointing  to  the 
hub,  so  the  various  occupations,  struggles  and 
tensions  of  mankind,  all  eventually  lead  to 
attempted  restoration  by  the  soothing  hand  of 
nature. 

In  my  back  yard,  in  a  wire  cage  about  ten  feet 
long,  I  have  a  brood  of  ducks.  It  is  amusing, 
especially  to  the  young  folks,  to  see  the  charac- 
teristic and  unique  manner  in  which  these  fuzzy 
waddlers  take  their  food.  Since  we  have  learned 
that  they  must  have  one  or  two  sips  of  water 
between  every  few  mouthfulsof  food,  we  have,  in 
order  to  add  to  the  entertainment  of  the  row  of 
youngsters,  who  so  often  come  to  watch  them, 
placed  the  dish  of  food  at  one  end  of  the  cage, 
and  the  pan  of  water  at  the  other.  Laboriously 
the  birds  scoop  up  the  food  in  their  broad  bills, 
and  strenuously  jerk  their  heads  back  and  forth  to 
shake  it  down  their  throats.  The  material  things 
of  life  are  serious  matters  to  them.  They  con- 
tinue their  exertions  as  long  as  they  can,  and 
then  wearily  waddle  over  to  the  basin  of  water 
and  delightedly  take  a  few  sips.  Now  the  labored 
"  quacks  "  give  way  to  a  sort  of  musical  chipper, 


192  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

as  they  gleefully  trot  back  to  the  strenuous  work 
of  getting  a  living.  The  row  of  young  folks  see 
lots  of  fun  in  all  this. 

But  isn't  it  after  all  an  epitome,  a  sort  of  par- 
allel, to  what  a  visitor  from  another  planet  might 
observe  if  suspended  in  a  balloon  over  this  weary, 
living-getting  world  of  ours  ?  The  people  are  the 
ducks,  the  basin  of  food  the  place  of  occupation 
and  the  vessel  of  water  the  seaside,  the  lake,  the 
rivers,  the  books,  the  fields,  the  mountains,  the 
wilderness.  Vigorously  we  labor  at  the  centre  of 
material  things,  then  tired  out  with  much  work, 
or  large  accumulations,  or  both,  we  hurry  away 
for  the  dilutant,  or  that  which  shall  make  us  digest, 
absorb  and  enjoy  all  that  we  have  succeeded  in 
picking  up  in  the  scramble.  Every  train  load  of 
excursionists  to  or  from  a  city  reminds  me  of 
those  ducks  hurrying  to  or  from  the  food  and 
the  water.  You  can  always  tell  by  the  appearance 
of  the  people  (and  of  the  ducks,  too  !)  which 
place  has  been  visited  last,  even  if  you  canno 
surmise  it  from  the  point  of  the  compass  which 
they  are  leaving,  or  that  toward  which  their  faces 
are  looking. 

My  son,  who  attends  to  the  needs  of  these  ducks, 
stops  me  at  this  point,  and  says  that  he  has  dis- 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  193 

covered  an  error  in  the  parallel.  He  makes  the 
suggestion  that  there  is  a  blunder  in  my  figure  of 
speech.  He  says  :  "  They  don't  act  that  way  so 
often  when  they  get  older.  It  is  only  when  they 
are  young  that  they  are  so  erratic.  Then  they  take 
a  sip  between  every  mouthful,  but  when  they  get 
older,  the  members  of  the  flock  drink  only  once  or 
twice  during  the  entire  meal."  This  suggestion  of 
an  error  in  the  parallel  but  points  out  all  the  more 
effectively  the  truth  of  what  I  maintain.  This 
alleged  discovery,  instead  of  crushing  me  and  my 
parallel,  actually  proves  my  position,  makes  my 
comparison  all  the  more  impressive  and  my 
meaning  all  the  more  incisive.  The  younger 
folks  should  go  and  need  to  go  to  nature  more 
frequently  than  their  elders;  indeed  they  should 
be  almost  constantly  in  the  presence  of  nature. 
This  is  the  true  theory  of  the  kindergarten. 
Liberal  and  continuous  sips  of  nature.  The 
business  man  can  be,  must  be,  content  with 
one  or  two  or  refreshing  drops  now  and  then 
in  the  form  of  a  few  hours  or  of  a  few  days'  vaca- 
tion from  the  office,  or  with  a  more  exhilarating 
"  drink  "  that  shall  last  for  a  week  or  a  month 
in  the  woods  once  a  year.  An  author  can  labor 
continuously  on  a  book  or  two,  then  back  he 
13 


194  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

must  go  to  nature  for  a  long,  refreshing  recu- 
perating draught.  John  Burroughs  says  of  the 
man  who  writes  : 

"  I  once  saw  a  cow  that  had  lost  her  cud.  How 
forlorn  and  desolate  and  sick  at  heart  that  cow 
looked.  No  more  rumination,  no  more  of  that 
second  and  finer  mastication,  no  more  of  that 
sweet  and  juicy  revery  under  the  spreading  trees, 
or  in  the  stall.  Then  the  farmer  took  an  elder 
and  scraped  the  bark  and  put  something  with  it, 
and  made  the  cow  a  cud,  and  after  due  waiting, 
the  experiment  took,  a  response  came  back,  and 
the  mysterious  machinery  was  once  more  in  mo- 
tion, and  the  cow  was  herself  again." 

Have  you,  O  poet,  or  essayist,  or  story-writer, 
never  lost  your  cud,  and  wandered  about  days  and 
weeks  without  being  able  to  start  a  single  thought 
or  an  image  that  tasted  good, — your  literary 
appetite  dull  or  all  gone,  and  the  conviction  daily 
growing  that  it  is  all  over  with  you  in  that  direc- 
tion ?  A  little  elder-bark,  something  fresh  and 
bitter  from  the  woods,  is  about  the  best  thing  you 
can  take. 

Bryant  also  tells  us  that  the  author  must  make 
visits  to  the  "  lonely  stream  M  for  refreshment  and 
inspiration  : 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  195 

11  Though  forced  to  drudge  for  the  dregs  of  men,' 
And  scrawl  strange  words  with  the  barbarous  pen, 
And  mingle  among  the  jostling  crowd, 
Where  the  sounds  of  strife  are  subtle  and  loud — 
I  often  come  to  this  quiet  place, 
I  breathe  the  airs  that  ruffle  thy  face, 
And  gaze  upon  thee  in  silent  dream, 
For  in  thy  lonely  and  lovely  stream 
An  image  of  that  calm  life  appears 
That  won  my  heart  in  my  greener  years." 

David  says,  "  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes  unto  the 
hills  from  whence  cometh  my  strength." 

The  child,  the  business  man,  the  teacher,  the 
housekeeper,  the  writer,  the  minister,  everybody 
seeks  inspiration  from  nature,  everybody  is  a 
naturalist,  or  a  student  of  nature  in  spite  of  him- 
self. The  fisherman  and  the  sportsman  are  mem- 
bers of  one  branch  of  the  many  that  form  the 
great  company  which  we  style  "  everybody." 

May  fishermen  and  sportsmen  "  confess  and  for- 
sake "  their  cruelty  ;  may  they  get  their  out-of- 
door  inspiration,  and  their  collection  of  fish  and 
game  chiefly  by  means  of  the  camera  and  not  by 
rod  and  gun.  When  his  followers  go  out  with 
their  nerves  stretched  to  the  breaking  point,  and 
their  shoulders  bowed  beneath  the  load  that 
civilized  life  heaps  upon  them,  until  they  ache  and 
sting  and  throb  with  the  pain  of  such  living,  may 


I96  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

they  return  from  the  water  as  gleefully  as  do  my 
ducks.  All  nature  shall  combine  to  win  them. 
Even  the  grass  by  the  brook  along  which  they  cast 
the  artificial  fly,  shall  add  to  this  inspiration.  Says 
Richard  Jefferies  : 

"As  a  few  strokes  from  a  loving  hand  will 
soothe  a  weary  forehead,  so  the  gentle  pressure 
of  the  wild  grass  soothes  and  strokes  away  the 
nervous  tension  born  of  civilized  life." 

The  carol  of  a  bird  is  more  soothing  to  weary 
nerves  than  the  explosive  bang  of  a  gun,  and 
never  harmful  to  any  living  creature.  A  wild  rose 
in  the  buttonhole  is  as  valuable,  and  as  nourish- 
ing to  one's  esthetic  nature,  as  a  dead  fish  to  his 
animal  instincts.  The  tendency  of  most  of  us  is 
to  allow  the  animal  within  us  to  develop  at  the 
expense  and  final  extinction  of  the  spiritual.  The 
slightest  observation,  even  a  casual  reading  of  the 
daily  newspaper,  will  prove  that.  We  shall  be 
better  for  this  world,  and  for  the  next  one  too,  if 
we  can  have  a  few  more  bird  songs  and  a  few 
more  wild  roses  in  our  daily  experience. 


APPENDIX 

HOW  TO  INTRODUCE  NATURE  STUDY 
By  Prof.  H.  A.  Surface. 

Economic  Zoologist  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Professor  of  Zoology  in  Pennsylvania  State  College. 

Many  persons  are  asking  if  they  should  intro- 
duce Nature  Study  either  in  the  home  or  in  the 
school,  and  how  it  should  be  done. 

The  method  of  introducing  the  study  depends 
upon  the  surrounding  conditions,  and  the  motives 
for  its  introduction.  If  the  conditions  are  such 
that  the  children  or  class  cannot  have  a  regular 
daily  period  devoted  to  the  subject,  the  best  re- 
sults cannot  be  obtained,  yet  something  can  be 
done,  as  we  have  seen,  toward  awakening  an  in- 
terest in  nature.  It  is  possible  to  lead  pupils  to 
see  things  and  understand  their  significance  with- 
out devoting  a  separate  period  to  the  special  sub- 
ject. 

Again,  if  there  are  certain  features  of  the  sub- 
ject that   the   teacher   does   not    understand,   it 

is  better  to  ignore  them  and  teach  those  parts 
197 


I98  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

that  are  well  known.  Also,  if  the  teacher  does 
not  know  how  to  teach  it  by  the  proper  methods 
to  insure  the  best  results,  there  will  be  no  greater 
merit  or  value  in  this  subject  than  in  any  other. 
That  part  of  the  subject  to  be  taught  should  also 
depend  upon  the  specimens  that  occur  in  the 
vicinity  or  can  be  obtained.  The  teacher  must 
derive  lessons  from  natural  objects  rather  than 
use  specimens  merely  to  illustrate  points  made  in 
the  lessons. 

When  it  is  decided  (1)  that  a  regular  period  is 
to  be  given  the  subject,  (2)  that  the  teacher  knows 
enough  about  it  or  some  part  of  it  to  treat  definite 
valuable  points,  (3)  and  is  able  to  teach  it  in  a 
way  to  make  the  primary  object  or  purpose  the 
development  of  thought,  instead  of  merely  to 
give  instruction,  and  (4)  suitable  material  can  be 
procured  from  which  to  derive  facts,  then  it  is 
time  to  introduce  nature  study  and  anticipate 
the  best  results  from  hard  work.  But  it  will  re- 
quire application  and  effort  in  this,  as  in  all  other 
pursuits.  There  is  no  royal  road  to  success,  and 
nature  study  is  no  panacea  for  all  the  educational 
ills  of  our  public  schools.  Certainly  it  is  possible  to 
make  this  subject  of  just  as  great  intensity,  and 
of  as  great  cultural  value,  as  any  other  known  sub- 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  199 

ject,  and  we  really  believe  that  when  properly 
taught  it  has  greater  possibilities  than  has  any 
other  subject  that  can  be  undertaken.  Since  the 
purpose  is  to  help  students  to  think,  this  cannot 
be  done  unless  the  instructor  thinks  even  deeper 
and  harder  than  do  the  persons  whom  he  under- 
takes to  train. 

If  the  subject  is  to  be  introduced  into  a  system 
of  schools,  by  far  the  best  possible  way  is  to 
engage  the  services  of  a  competent  specialist  in 
this  line,  to  place  it  upon  such  a  footing  that  it 
can  in  a  few  years  be  taught  entirely  by  the  regu- 
lar teachers. 

If  an  individual  teacher  wishes  to  introduce  it, 
all  that  is  necessary  is  to  observe,  or  read  about 
some  common  objects  of  nature ;  learn  for  himself 
some  features  of  interest  about  them,  and  then 
procure  specimens  of  these  objects,  and  placing 
them  before  the  pupils,  start  them  in  the  process 
of  thinking  or  discovering  for  themselves  the  truth 
or  facts  which  the  teacher  has  learned  (no  matter 
by  what  means)  about  this  material  or  phenom- 
enon. It  is  best  to  have  the  specimens  come 
from  the  surrounding  neighborhood,  and  if  pos- 
sible collected  by  the  pupils  themselves.  The 
same  material  can  be  used  in  any  and  all  grades 


200  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

if  the  intensity  of  treatment  is  made  to  vary  ac- 
cordingly. 

It  is  advisable,  when  possible,  to  plan  a  gen- 
eral series  or  course  for  the  year,  considering  the 
kind  of  material  that  is  readily  accessible,  or  phe- 
nomena that  can  be  observed  at  successive  dates. 
Although  class  excursions  for  outdoor  study  are 
very  valuable  when  they  are  conducted  with  but 
few  persons,  they  cannot  be  relied  upon  with  full 
rooms,  as  many  experiences  have  proved  that  they 
are  not  at  all  practicable.  Try  them,  and  under 
certain  conditions  field  excursions  may  be  found 
a  valuable  feature  of  nature  study.  These  es- 
sential conditions  are  (i)  that  a  suitable  time  be 
found  for  such  excursions ;  (2)  that  the  size  of 
the  class  be  reduced  to  a  number  that  can  be 
handled  to  advantage  in  the  field,  usually  not 
more  than  fifteen ;  (3)  that  the  teachers  know 
where  and  how  to  go,  and  what  to  do  and  how  to 
do  it.  Although  there  are  so  many  contingencies 
here  outlined  that  it  appears  discouraging,  it  is 
far  better  for  our  readers  that  these  conditions  be 
pointed  out,  than  that  they  should  have  to  learn 
them  by  the  actual,  sad  experiences  that  have  be- 
fallen teachers  and  parents  in  various  places,  who 
have  attempted  to  follow  the  many  impracticable 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  201 

suggestions  of  a  number  of  advanced  theorists  in 
education. 

It  is  certain  that  the  advanced  and  theoretical 
advocates  of  field  studies  will  propose  various  so- 
lutions for  these  practicable  problems  (practical 
persons  show  that  there  are  such  difficulties),  but 
they  always  involve  us  in  troubles  as  great  as 
those  from  which  we  seek  to  escape.  To  be 
clearly  understood,  we  should  say  that  while  we 
have  found  field  studies  to  be  the  soul  and  life  of 
the  work  in  university  and  college  courses,  we  can- 
not advocate  them  for  grade  pupils,  under  the 
surroundings  or  conditions  that  confront  the 
average  teacher. 

The  following  short  rules  have  been  derived 
as  the  results  of  years  of  personal  experience, 
and  may  prove  of  value  to  both  teachers  and 
parents : 

1.  Begin  every  lesson  by  showing  either  a  speci- 
men or  an  experiment,  or  by  asking  a  question 
about  some  observed  phenomenon. 

2.  Direct  pupils  to  observe  nature  whenever 
they  are  out  of  the  house. 

3.  Have  pupils  keep  note-books  of  every  feature 
of  the  progress  of  the  seasons. 

4.  Direct  pupils  to  collect  such  specimens  as 


202  HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT 

are  needed,  telling  them   just   how,  where   and 
what  to  get. 

5.  Watch  the  markets,  and  make  use  of  the 
material  they  bring  within  range. 

6.  Have  pupils  describe  and  name  an  object  and 
describe  its  parts,  before  you  teach  them  its  func- 
tions, habits,  etc.  This  is  "  the  study  of  structure 
before  that  of  functions." 

7.  Never  tell  pupils  anything  that  reasonable 
effort  can  lead  them  to  learn  for  themselves. 
They  become  "  doers  by  doing." 

8.  Commend  all  voluntary  observations  and  in- 
dividual studies  on  the  part  of  a  pupil. 

9.  Do  not  make  the  lessons  so  elementary  as  to 
make  thinking  unnecessary  on  the  pupil's  part, 
and  do  not  permit  them  to  degenerate  into  mere 
object  lessons. 

10.  If  there  is  a  good  prescribed  course  avail- 
able, follow  it  with  care ;  but  if  not,  use  any  ma- 
terial obtainable,  remembering  that  the  aim  is 
culture,  not  instruction. 

11.  In  order  to  teach  yourself  more  about  the 
subject,  do  not  hesitate  to  ask  questions,  by  cor- 
respondence or  otherwise.  Remember  it  is  not 
essential  that  the  instructor  should  learn  all  his 


HOW  NATURE  STUDY  SHOULD  BE  TAUGHT  203 

facts  by  the  observational  method  which  he  asks 
his  pupils  to  adopt. 

12.  Review  the  subject  in  a  good  summer  school 
of  the  right  kind,  where  both  profit  and  recreation 
may  be  obtained. 


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Bookkeeping 

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x 


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a 


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King's  Civil  Govt,  of  Michigan,*  50 

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McCorvey's  Civil  Govt,  of  Alabama,*  50 

McPherson's  Civil  Govt,  of  Georgia,*  50 

Milligan's  Civil  Govt,  of  Illinois,*  50 

Rawles'  Civil  Govt,  of  Indiana,*  50 

Thorpe's  Civil  Govt,  of  Pennsylvania,*  50 

Thorpe's  Civil  Govt,  of  Porto  Rico,*  50 

Wilgus'  Civil  Govt,  of  Wisconsin,*  50 

Woodworth's  Civil  Govt,  of  North  Dakota,*  50 

Young's  Civil  Government  of  Colorado,*  50 

Composition  and  Rhetoric 

Hart's  Composition  and  Rhetoric,  Revised  Ed.*  1  00 

Radford's  Composition  and  Rhetoric,*  1  00 

Constitution 

Constitution  of  the  U.  S.  in  Ger.,  FrM  and  Eng.,  50 

Hart's  Constitution  of  the  U.  S.*  45 
Thorpe's  Constitution  of  U.  S.,  with  Index*  {.Pocket 

Edition),  35 
Dictionaries 
French-English— English-French  Dictionary  {The 

Classic  Series),  2  00 
German-English — English-German  Dictionary 

{The  Classic  Series),  2  00 
Latin-English— English-Latin   Dictionary  {The 

Classic  Series),  2  00 
Greek-English— English-Greek    Dictionary  {The 

Classic  Series),  2  00 

English-Greek  Dictionary  {The  Classic  Series),  1  00 

Handy  Italian-English— English-Italian  Dict'y,  1  00 

——Spanish-English— English-Spanish  Dict'y,  1  00 

S 


Dictionaries    {Continued) 

White's  Latin-English  Dictionary,  i  20 

English-Latin  Dictionary,  1  20 

Latin-English— English-Latin  Dictionary,  2  25 

Berry's  New  Testament  Lexicon,  with  Synonyms 

(Greek-English),  1  00 

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Elocution  and  Reading    (See  also  Speakers) 

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College  Girl's  Three-Minute  Readings  (Davis),  1  00 

Fenno's  New  Science  and  Art  of  Elocution,*  1  25 
How  to  Attract  and  Hold  an  Audience* 

(Esenwein),  1  00 

How  to  Gesture:  New  Illustrated  Edition*  (OttX  1  00 

How  to  Use  the  Voice  in  Rdg.and  Speaking*  (Ott),  1  25 
Selected  Readings  from  the  Most  Popular  Novels 

(Lewis),  1  25 

Ten  Weeks'  Course  in  Elocution,  A*  (Coombs),  1  25 

Well  Planned  (A)  Course  in  Reading  (Le  Row),  1  00 

English  and  American  Literature 

An  Outline  of  the  Books  I  Have  Read*  (paper),  25 

How  to  Study  Literature*  (Heydrick),  75 
Longwell's  Outlines  of  English  and  American 

Literature*  (paper),  50 

Smyth's  American  Literature,*  00 

Southwick's  Short  Studies  in  Literature,*  50 

•  Key  to  same,*  20 

Trimble's  Hand  Book  of  Literature,*  1  30 
Short  Course  in  Literature,*  1  00 

Ethics    (See  also  Manners  and  Morals) 

Bierbower's  The  Virtues  and  Their  Reasons,*  1  00 

Gregory's  Christian  Ethics,*  1  10 

Mackenzie's  Manual  of  Ethics,*  1  50 

Etymology  (Word  Analysis) 

Webb's  Model  Definer  (128  pp),*  33 

Model  Etymology  (256  pp),*  5» 

Manual  of  Etymology,*  J$ 

4 


French 

French-English— English-French  Dictionary 

{The  Classic  Series),  a  oo 

Bregy's  Smith's  Guide  to  French  Conversation,*       40 
Maurice's  Grammaire  en  Action,*  80 

German 
German-English— English-German  Dictionary 

(  The  Classic  Series),  2  00 

German  Texts,  with  Foot-notes  and  Vocab.*  each :      50 

Schiller's  Wilhelm  Tell, 

Schiller's  Der  Neffe  als  Onkel, 

Schiller's  Jungfrau  von  Orleans, 

Schiller's  Maria  Stuart, 

Lessing's  Minna  von  Barnhelm, 

Lessing's  Nathan  der  Weise, 

Lessing's  Emilia  Galotti, 

Goethe's  Hermann  und  Dorothea. 

Greek 
Brooks'  First  Lessons  in  Greek,  with  Lexicon,*         50 
New  Beginners'  Greek  Book,  A*  (Frisbee)  1  25 

Greek-English— English-Greek  Dictionary 

{The  Classic  Series),  3  00 

English-Greek  Dictionary  {The  Classic  Series),        1  00 
Liddell  and  Scott's  Greek  Lexicon  {A  bridged),        1  20 
Berry's  New  Testament  Lexicon,  with  Syno- 
nyms {Greek-English),  1  00 
Hebrew 
Hinds  &  Noble's  Hebrew  Grammar,*                        1  00 

Italian 

Handy  Italian-English— English-Italian  Dict'y.     1  00 

Language  Lessons,  Grammar  and  Composition 

Gideon's  Lessons  in  Language,*  38 

Exercises  in  English,*  45 

Hart's  (J.  M.)  Essentials  of  Prose  Composition,*     65 

Hand  Book  of  English  Composition,*  1  00 

(J.  S.)  Language  Lessons  for  Beginners,*  20 

> Elementary  Grammar*  Revised  Edition,  35 

Eng.  Grammar  and  Analysis,*  Rev.  Ed.  65 

First  Lessons  in  Composition,*  65 

Composition  and  Rhetoric,*  Revised  Edition,  1  00 

5 


Language  Lessons,  Oram,  and  Comp'n    (Cent.) 

Maris'  Normal  Grammar,*  50 

Radford's  Composition  and  Rhetoric,*  1  00 

Rigdon's  English  Grammar  for  Beginners,*  40 

English  Grammar  for  the  Common  School,*  60 

Anal,  of  the  Eng.  Sentence  with  Diagrams,*  75 

• Grammar  of  the  English  Sentence,*  85 

Outlines,  Infinitives,  Participles*  (paper),  as 

Latin 

Dictionaries. 

Lat.-Eng.— Eng.-Lat.  Dic't.  {The  Classic  Series),  2  o» 

Latin-English  Dictionary  (White),  1  20 

English-Latin  Dictionary  (White),  1  20 

Lat.-Eng.— Eng.-Lat.  Dicty.  (White),  2  25 

First  Lessons,  Grammars,  Readers,  etc. 

Brooks'  Historia  Sacra,  with  First  Latin  Lessons,*  50 

Chase  and  Stuart's  First  Year  in  Latin,*  85 

Latin  Grammar,*  1  00 

Latin  Reader,*  75 

Mitchell's  Essentials  of  Latin,*  1  00 

New  Beginners'  Latin  Book,  A*  (Hoch  and  Bert),  1  00 

Idioms. 

Caesar's  Idioms*  (Mueller),  15 

Cicero's  Idioms*  (Mueller),  15 

Prosody. 

Casserly's  Latin  Prosody,*  *> 

Texts:  Casar. 
Chase  and  Stuart's  Caesar's  Commentaries  with 

Lexicon  and  Notes*  (New  Edition,  387  pp.)  1  00 

Beginner's  Caesar,  The*  (Cannon),  75 

Shortest  Road  to  Caesar*  (Jeff ers),  75 

Cicero. 
Chase   and   Stuart's    Cicero   de  Officiis,     with 

Notes*  x  i» 

Cicero  de Oratore  Book  I,  with  Notes*  65 

Cicero  de  Oratore  Books^I,  II,  III.wzVA  Notes*  1  10 

Cicero's    Select    Letters,  with    Notts,* 

(Montague),  1  00 

——Cicero's  Select  Orations,  with  Lex.  and  Net— ■*  1  i* 
I 


Latin     (Continued 

Texts :     Cicero  ( Cont.  ) 
Chase  and   Stuart's  Cicero  de  Senectute   et    de 

Amicitia,  With  Notes*  95 
Cicero's    Tusculan    Disputations,    with  Notes*        95 

Horace 
Chase    and     Stuart's    Horace's    Odes,     Satires 

and    Epistles,    with    Notes*  1     10 
Horace  (Select  from)  with  Lex.  and  Notes*     1     00 

Ovid. 
Chase  and  Stuart's  Ovid,   with  Lex.    and   Notes*     1     10 
Brooks'  New  Ovid,  with    Vocabulary  *  1     50 

Vtrtril. 
Chase    and    Stuart's    Virgil's     yEneid.      First    Six 

Books,   with  Lexicon  and  Notes*  95 
Virgil's  Eclogues  and   Georgics,   with     Lexicon 

and  Notes*  95 

Brooks*  Nev/  Virgil's  yEneid,   with     Vocabulary,*    1     50 

Other  Latin  Texts. 
Chase  and  Stuart's    Cornelius    Nepos,   with  Lexicon 

and  Notes,  *  95 

Juvend,  with  Notes*  95 

Livy,  with  Notes,*  1     10 

Pliny's  Letters,   with    Notes,*   (Montague),  1     00 

Sallust's    Catiline  et  Jugurtha,    with     Lexicon 

and   Notes,*  95 

Tacitus,  with  Notes.*  95 

Terence,  with  Notes*  95 

Letter  Writing 

New  Text-Book  on  Letter  Writing   (A),*  75 

Logic 

Gregory's  Practical  Logic,  *  95 

rianners  and  floral* 

Character:   A  Moral  Text-Book   (Varnum),  1     50 

Character  Building   (Coler),  I    00 

Lessons  on  Manners*    (Mrs.   Dewey),  75 

Lessons  on  Morals*    (Mrs.  Dewey),  75 
The  Virtues  and  Their  Reasons*  (Bierbower),       1    00 
7 


riusic 

New  Songs  for  Glee  Clubs  (paper),  50 

New  Songs  for  Male  Quartets  (paper),  50 

New  Songs  and  Anthems   for  Church  Quartets, 

Octavo  Edition^  separate  numbers,  at  10  to  30 
Songs  of  the  Flag  and  Nation,*  50 

Jlythology 

Edwards'  Hand  Book  of  Mythology,*  95 

Who's    Who    in    Mythology  (1,000   Mythological 

Characters  Briefly  Described),  75 

Who's  Who  in  History,  (1,000  Classical  Characters 

Briefly  Described),  75 

Natural  Philosophy 

Houston's  Easy  Lessons  in  Natural  Philosophy,*  40 

Intermediate  Natural  Philosophy,*  60 

Elements  of  Nat.  Philos.*  Revised  Ed.  1  00 

Martindale's  First  Less,  in  Natural  Philosophy*,  40 

Nature  Study 

Nature  Study  Lessons*  (Crawford),  75 

Parliamentary  ilanuals 

Howe's   Hand    Book    of    Parliamentary    Usage 

(Instantaneous  Arbitrator^  50 

How  to  Organize  and  Conduct  a  Meeting  (Henry),  75 

Palmer's  New  Parliamentary  Manual,  75 

Penmanship 

Continental  Copy  Books,  Nos.  1-7*  (Slant  System) 

per  doz.  75 

Model   Vertical  System   Copy  Books,  Nos.  1-7* 

per  doz.  75 
Vertical  Writing  Slips,  Nos.   1-7*    per  doz. 

sets,  75 

Rational  Slant  System    Copy  Books,   Nos.   1-4* 

per  doz.  75 
Slant  System  Writing  Slips,   Nos.  1-4*  per 

doz,  sets,  75 

8 


Phonography 

American  Standard  System  of  Phonography,* 
{Scott-Browne)  : 

Manual  of  Pitman  Phonography,  i  oo 

Reading  Exercises,  25 

First  Phonographic  Reader,  50 

Second  Phonographic  Reader,  50 

Dictation  Book,  25 

Shorthand  Abbreviations  or  Dictionary,  50 

Shorthand  Names  and  Phrases,  50 

Religious  Phonographic  Reader,  25 

Reporter's  Guide,  1  50 

Pencil  Notes,  25 

Books  of  Business  Letters,                         each  50 

Typewriter  Instructor,  50 

Physical  Geography 

Houston's  New  Physical   Geography,*      (12010., 

399  pp.)  1  25 

Physical  Geography,*     Old  Edition,       (4to., 

180  pp.)  1  25 

Norman's  Outline  of  Physical  and  Political  Geog- 
raphy* (paper),  25 

Physiology  and  Hygiene 

Cornman  and  Gerson's  Physiology  Primer,*  45 

Lind's  Lessons  in  Physiology  for  Beginners,*  6o> 

Lessons  in  Physiol,  for  Schools  and  Colleges,*  1  25 

Mills'  Physiology,  Hygiene,  and  Narcotics,*  6o> 

Physiological  Charts 

Mills  and  Leuf's  Chart— Effects  of  Alcohol,*  2  00. 

Key  to  same,*  25 

Our  Bodies,*  7  50 

Key  to  same,*  50 

Psychology 

Gordy's  New  Psychology,*  1  25 

Rigdon's  Outline  of  Psychology*  (paper),  25 

Stout's  The  Groundwork  of  Psychology,*  1  25 

Stout's  Manual  of  Psychology,*  1  50 
9 


Punctuation 

Hart's  Punctuation,*  50 

How  to  Punctuate  Correctly*  (paper),  25 

Punctuation  Mastered  in  12  Lessons*  (paper),  25 

Rhetoric  {See  Composition  and  Rhetoric) 

School  Record  Books 

Model  Monthly  Report,  The*,               per  doz.,  75 

Pocket  Register  and  Grade  Book,*  50 

Roll  Book,  No.  1,*  1  35 

Roll  Book,  No.  2,*  1  35 

School  Diary,*                                       per  doz.,  75 

Quinn's  Complete  Class  Record  Book,  50 

Manual  Training-  Class  Register,  75 

Smith's  New  Class  Register,  50 

Spanish 

Handy  Span.-Eng.— Eng.-Span.   Dictionary,  1  00 
Speakers    {See  also  Elocution) 

Best,  (The)  American  Orations  of  To-day,  {Black- 
stone),  1  25 
Pieces  That  Have  Taken  Prizes  in  Speaking  Con- 
tests (Craig),  1  25 
New  Pieces  That    Will  Take  Prizes  in  Speaking 

Contests  (Blackstone),  1  25 

Pieces  for  Every  Occasion  (Le  Row),  1  25 
College     Men's     Three-Minute     Declamations 

(Davis),  1  00 

Acme  Declamation  Book  {paper 30c.  ),  cloth,  50 

Handy  Pieces  to  Speak  {on  separatt  cards),  50 

Southern  Speaker  (Ross),  1  00 

Lawrence's  Model  Speaker,*  1  10 

Spelling 

Columbia  Graded  Speller*  {Primary),  20 

Columbia  Graded  Speller*  {Advanced),  25 

New  Speller*  (A),  a$ 

Orthography  and  Orthoepy*  (Clinger),  $0 

Westlake's  3000  Practice  Words,*  30 


State  History 

Du  Bose*s  M  Sketches  "  of  Alabama  History,*  90 
Supplementary  Reading 

Columbia  Primer,  25 
What  Shall  I  Do  ?    (50  Profitable  Occupations),       1  00 

Going  to  College  (Barbe),  50 

Lessons  on  Prac.  Subjects*  (Hughes  and  Faucon),  50 
The    Man   Who  Pleases  and    The  Woman  Who 

Charms  (Cone),  75 

Synonyms  and  Antonyms 

Likes  and  Opposites*   (A  Dictionary  of  Synonyms 

and  Antonyms)^  50 

Teachers'  Pedagogical  Helps 

New  School  Management,  A*  (Seeley),  1  25 

Foundations  of  Education,  The*  (Seeley),  1  00 

Gordy's  New  Psychology*  (for  Teachers),  1  25 

A  Broader  Elementary  Education,*  1  25 

Stout's  The  Groundwork  of  Psychology,  1  25 

Hart's  In  the  Schoolroom,*  1  00 

Page's  Theory    and  Practice  of  Teaching  (paper 

joe),  cloth,  1  o» 

Mistakes  in  Teaching  and  How  to  Correct  Them 

(Preston  Papers),  1  00 

Twentieth       Century       Educational      Problems 

(Millar),  1  00 

Science  of  Study,  The*  (Moore),  1  00 

Best  Methods  of  Teaching   in  Country    Schools 

(Lind),  1  23 

V>ark's  Outline  of  Pedagogy  75 

joo  Lessons  Outlined  in  Arith.,  Geog.,  Eng.  Gram., 

U.  S.  Hist.,  and  Physiol.  (Lind),  1  25 

How  to  Become  Quick  at  Figures  (50  Neiu  Short 

Cuts).  1  00 

Manuals  for  Teachers  (5  volumes,)*  each,         40 

Vol.  I.    On  the  Cultivation  of  the  Senses, 

Vol.  II.    On  the  Cultivation  of  the  Memory, 

Vol.  III.    On  the  Use  of  Words, 

Vol.  IV.    On  Discipline, 

Vol.  V.    On  Class  Teaching. 

Methods  of  Teaching  Gymnastics  (Anderson),        1  *$ 

IX 


Trigonometry 

Whitaker's  Elements  of  Trigonometry,*  x  «, 

United  States  History 
Henry's  New  Normal  History  of  the  U.  S.,*  i  oo 

Joseph's  Institutional  History  of  U  S.,*  150 

Methods  and  Outlines  in  U.  S.  History  (paper),*  35 

Outline  of  U.  S.  History  (paper),*  15 

Thorpe's  History  of  U.  S.*  (From  Discovery  to 

Revolution)^  ^0 

—  History  of  U,  S.  for  Junior  Classes,*  80 


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THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
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MJQfL 


JUL 


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14Aug'57J 


RECTD  LD 


AUG  13 1957 


^mrtip 


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AM 


LD  21-100ro-7,'33 


6iT 


J&^ufc/MrW 


^■^ 


